And So it Goes
by Manigault
Summary: Grissom takes a sabbatical and upon his return angst ensues.
1. Chapter 1

And So it Goes...

By: Manigault

Spoilers: LLV and whatever else...I do hope there is no doom and gloom on the horizon for GSR but this is my way of taking my mind off the possible scary future.

...Enjoy...

Disclaimer: Not mine...All characters belong to CBS, etc...I'm just messing with them like they mess with me.

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He was gone. Just like that. Gone. Sara slammed her locker door shut and leaned her forehead against the cool metal door. She had seen the distracted look in his eyes over the past few weeks, recognized the mental wheel turning furiously inside his brillant mind, but she had chosen to pretend it was temporary and he would work it out. When she did approach him about what was wrong, he had shrugged and assured her that he _would _figure it out.

Moving back from the locker she found the bench press against the back of her knees and she slowly eased her numb body onto the hard surface. They had slowly built a relationship over the last two years that had given her such security in their relationship that in no part of her mind had she believed he would up and leave her for six weeks without dicussing the situation with her first. They lived together. They slept together. They made love. This felt like a surreal dream where the past two years were erased and they were back at square one. Why had he felt the need to keep her out of his decision? She wouldn't have tried to talk him out of it. She would have been there for him, supportive in what he felt he needed to do, assuring him that she would be waiting for him when he returned.

A new fear sprung to her mind and she felt her breath leave her chest in a rush. Maybe this was his way of letting her know that he didn't want things to be the same when he returned._ If _he returned. She had moved to Vegas for him and now he had left Vegas without asking her to go with him. Would he return?

Sara heard the door to the locker room open and she flinched, waiting for the person to speak. When there was no sound she risked a glance over and found Nick studying her with a concerned expression.

"Hey Sar, you okay?"

She should lie. Nick wasn't aware of her relationship with Grissom and couldn't possibly understand the implications of what his leaving so abruptly had done to her psyche. She should lie, but she didn't have it in her so she said crisply, "No."

Nick wasn't stupid, he knew like everyone else in the lab that Sara was hung up on Grissom and that his leaving would affect her on some level that it didn't the rest of the team. "Grissom will be back in a few short weeks and everything will be back to normal. You'll see."

Sara smirked. She couldn't help it. She loved Nick dearly as a friend, a good friend, but she couldn't help but think harshly about his naive comment. It wasn't his fault. It was a secret that she and Grissom had held close to their breast, a secret that could easily be balled up like a crumpled piece of paper and tossed in the trash can without a second look back. At least that was what she felt at that second.

"I'm tired, Nick, I'm going home." Sara stumbled over the last word and fought back the tears that had welled in her eyes. She wouldn't allow Grissom to do this to her, not like this. What was he a teenager who decided to break up with the girlfriend by not calling her and pretending that all would be fine and dandy. Shit. She wouldn't let him strip her of the confidence that she had nurtured over the past few years.

"Warrick and Greg want to grab breakfast and I was searching for you to see if you wanted to come with us?" Nick had been looking for Sara to ask her to join them so they could hash out the departure of Grissom and break apart the reasons for his leaving. Now he thought maybe it wouldn't be a good idea for Sara to be part of their discussion. He almost hoped she would turn him down and insist on going home.

An empty home or breakfast with friends. Sara weighed the options and decided to go with the breakfast with friends. "Count me in. I don't think that I could sleep right now."

"You know the subject of Grissom is bound to come up, Sara, don't you?" Nick felt inclined to warn her of the subject that he knew would be center to the conversation.

"Of course," Sara forced a smile to curl her lips. "We'll analyze his madness and try to break apart the reasons for his escape from Las Vegas."

Uncertainty settled in Nick's eyes as he watched Sara trying to put on a brave front, but maybe a morning out with friends would help ease her pain. This last thought put a frown on his face as he wondered at that sentiment and why it had popped into his mind. Pain. Sara was in pain and Grissom was the cause.

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"I wonder where he's gone on sabbatical," Greg said between mouthfuls of pancakes. Confusion washed over his face as he contemplated his own words, "who uses words like "sabbatical" anyways?"

"Grissom." Nick replied as he waved to someone on the other side of the diner.

Sara's eyes followed his motion and she inwardly groaned. Now they would be joined by Sophia and Brass who would add to the fervor of discussion about where Grissom went and why he left. She shouldn't have agreed to breakfast. She should have taken a long drive away from Vegas and spent the day contemplating what had gone wrong with herself and Grissom.

"Hey guys," Brass dragged a chair over to the table and took a seat as Sophia slid into the booth beside Nick. "So what's the word on Grissom?"

"I thought maybe you could tell us, Jim, seeing as you and Grissom are buds." Greg pulled another stack of pancakes towards him as he shot a quick look over towards the older man. He knew that Grissom told him that he and Brass didn't hang out after work, but everyone knew they shared a drink after heavy cases.

"I have no clue," Brass shook his head in bewilderment. "I know that seeing that poor bastard kill himself really shook him up, but he's seen worse than that over the years. I guess it was a multitude of cases building up over time that made him want to get away for awhile. I don't even know where he's gone."

Sara pushed her toast around on her plate and considered telling them the truth. What did it matter if they knew he had gone to Williams to teach for a few weeks. At least she knew that much. Apparently it was more than he had revealed to anyone else.

"Where do you think he went, Sara?"

The question was asked by Sophia who had zeroed in on Sara's distracted state.

With a light shrug, Sara bit her lip and held back the retort that sprung to her lips. "If he was smart then he went someplace tropical."

"I can't see Grissom going anyplace with snow, that's for sure," Greg joked as everyone with the exception of Sara joined in the laughter.

"Speaking of tropical," Warrick interjected, "the wife wants to make a trip to Florida to visit her grandparents. Anyone interested in picking up my shift for the next two nights?"

"I'll take them." Sara said quickly. Work would keep her mind off of him. She hoped. Although being in the lab without Grissom around some corner or other would be difficult it would have to be better than staring at an empty townhome. Anger tried to rise to the surface as she recalled Grissom's insistance that she let her apartment lease go and move in with him. That had been almost a year ago. She had no place to retreat that didn't involve Grissom.

"You do know that Florida isn't tropical, right War?" Nick teased his friend while spearing a piece of toast from Nick's plate.

"Close enough," Warrick replied with a grin.

"Where's Catherine?" Brass asked looking around the table and noticing one of the team missing.

"She's talking to lawyers about the casinos that Sam Braun left her," Warrick said without thinking. Whistling beneath his breath, Nick looked impressed.

"I should have figured that Braun would have left everything to Catherine but I didn't give it much thought. Wow, I wonder if this means she will leave the lab to become a big wig casino owner."

"She's not interested in that life style," Warrick said quietly, his confidence earning a few looks of interest from those seated at the table.

Sara was simply glad the conversation had drifted away from Grissom and onto someone else and speculation about what they were doing and why. Another thought entered her mind as she considered the possiblity of Catherine renting a hotel room to her at a decent price for the next few weeks. At least until she could come to some decision on what direction her life was going to take in the near future.

She decided to talk to her the first chance she got and with that decision made, she excused herself from the table. "I'm going home to crash. Good night everyone."

Watching her leave, Nick caught a look from Brass and knew that he, too, was concerned about Sara and her reaction to Grissom's leaving.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

And So it Goes...part two

By: Manigault

Note: Thanks for the comments everyone. It's appreciated.

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Sara found Catherine in the breakroom, a stack of papers in front of her, a frown creasing her forehead as she gripped a pen tightly in one hand. Clearing her throat, Sara stopped on the far side of the table and waited for Catherine to look up and acknowledge her presence.

"Oh, hey Sara, you're in early aren't you?" Catherine squinted past Sara's shoulder to focus on the wall clock that resided beside the doorway. "Or maybe it's later than I thought it was."

"Have you got a minute?" Sara asked with a slight hitch to her voice. She detested asking favors, but this was one that she felt compelled to seek out. After returning to the townhome she shared with Grissom she realized that she couldn't walk into their bedroom without the feeling of betrayal washing over her and thus tainting the memories they had built for the past two years. She had to escape or she was afraid the hurt would overwhelm the good things that she had shared with him.

"Sure, what's bothering you?" Catherine knew that Grissom's leaving had shaken the foundation of the team and couldn't help but wonder if the dark circles beneath Sara's eyes and her pale complexion had any connection. She knew that Sara and Grissom had woven their way into some kind of easy working relationship but to her knowledge that didn't extend outside of work.

"I need a place to stay for a few days. I thought that maybe I could rent one of the hotel rooms from you until I find an apartment." Sara's voice drifted off and she waited for the surprised look in Catherine's eyes to fade as she braced herself for the questions.

"Of course you can stay at one of my hotels," Catherine made a wry face and tossed the pen she was holding on top of the stack of papers. "I'll speak with some people and make the arrangements. I'll give you the information before shift change."

"Thank you, I'll pay you back." Sara stated as she walked towards the coffee pot to pour herself some of the strong brew, relieved that Catherine had not asked her why she was seeking a new place to live.

"Sara?" asked Catherine.

Here it goes, Sara braced herself for the question and wasn't disappointed when Catherine asked her why she was looking for a new place.

"I let my apartment lease get away from me and now I need to find a new place." Sara hoped the evasion would be enough to stop any further questions as the truth was that Grissom had convinced her to not renew her apartment lease over nine months ago. She had moved the bulk of her things into storage and what she needed into his townhome.

"Okay," Catherine continued to study Sara's tense posture as her fellow CSI kept her back turned while adding creamer to her coffee. She would hold off quizzing Sara for now, after all they all had secrets.

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That night they met Keppler. Sara didn't care for him and recognized that it possibly had to do with the fact that he was a temporary replacement for Grissom. That and the fact that there was something almost dark about him. A dark aura, she thought and shook off the feeling of gloom with an inward chuckle. She was losing it. The fact that it was raining tonight and her own mood was heavy could account for her feelings of distrust.

Catherine handed her a piece of paper after shift with the name of a contact at one of her hotels. She didn't ask Sara questions and Sara didn't offer any explanations. She thanked her and stuffed the paper into the pocket of her jacket as she left the building.

Apprehension filled Sara as she entered the hotel and was assaulted with the noise and commotion of a lively casino, in the process failing to hear the ringing of her cell as it was swallowed into the sounds of the gaudy room. Finding the registration desk she pulled out the slip of paper and asked the young woman behind the counter how she could contact a Bernard Rockford.

Sara watched the woman dial a number and speak to someone on the other line. After a few minutes she replaced the receiver and smiled at Sara. "Are you Miss Sidle?"

"Yeah, that's me." Sara watched her type something into the computer and then hand her a room card.

"This is your room indefinitely. Enjoy, Miss Sidle."

Sara thanked her and gripped the card in her hand as she turned to get a feel for the place she would be staying for the next few days or possibly weeks. Lights flashed, dealors placed cards, and people moved throughout the commotion. It was mind numbing that Catherine owned all of this. If she wanted a distraction, something to take her mind off Grissom, then this was the place.

Walking quickly towards a bank of elevators, Sara felt a small measure of relief as she left the commotion for a little solitude of the elevator. She felt the apprehension begin anew when she stepped into the room that Catherine had lent her to use. It was breathtaking and huge. Pulling out her cell she quickly dialed Catherine's number, not bothering with greetings.

"There's been a mistake, Catherine, this isn't a room it's a suite. It must cost a fortune to stay in this room for one night, let alone several."

"Your welcome, Sara," Catherine chuckled over the line. "I told Bernie to make sure you had the nicest suite in the hotel and that you were to stay there for however long you like."

"I can't afford this, Catherine."

"You aren't paying me Sara, it's a gift."

"It's too much." Sara walked into the room and eyed the hot tub with quilty pleasure.

"Consider it a gift for all of those birthdays and other occasions when I didn't give you anything. You can repay me by having dinner with me sometime and answering some burning questions that I have regarding your living arrangements."

Sara's hand tightened around the phone. "What do you mean?"

"Later, Sara, right now enjoy my gift and I'll see you when shift starts. Good night."

If Catherine had suspicions about Grissom and herself then Sara should be thankful that it had taken two years for the questions to come to the surface. Shrugging, she placed the phone on the bedside table and regarded the hot tub. She knew the bacteria that could live in a hot tub. She could quote the statistics better than anyone, but right now it was time for a change and she wanted to soak in the hot water with jets surrounding her body. She could push the thougts of sanitation to the back of her mind where she planned on keeping Grissom. For now, she was going to enjoy some self pampering.

It didn't work. She sat in the tub and had images of bacteria assaulting her body as she struggled to disregard them and let all thoughts subside. Ringing from her cell phone split the silence and she pulled herself from the tub to search for a towel. She would take a shower and try to wash away the images of bacteria before she checked her phone. It was probably Nick checking on her, or even Greg.

She refused to think of Grissom and the possibility that he was trying to reach her. It was so much easier to talk to someone on the phone from hundreds of miles away, wasn't it? She didn't want to give him that. Not yet. If he couldn't explain everything to her when they were in bed together or sitting across from each other at the dinner table, then why should she make it easy for him now?

The shower was refreshing and she took her time, allowing the water to wash over her head and roll down her back. It was the peristant ringing of her cell phone that finally drew her from the shower and into the room where she found herself lifting the cell and staring down at the name that scrolled along the screen.

"Grissom." She held the phone as it stopped ringing and checked the messages to see if he had left any. There were several text messages.

_Sara, Are you okay? Grissom_.

"No, Griss, I'm not okay." Sara deleted the message and clicked on the second message.

_Sara? Where are you? Are you avoiding me? Grissom_

"You're so brillant, Grissom. No, you are the one that has been avoiding me." Sara felt a small measure of pleasure at venting aloud to his messages. It was childish, perhaps, but it felt good. For once, she had some control since the ball had been in Grissom's court for much too long.

_Talk to me, Sara, this is ridiculous. Answer your phone and let me explain. I miss you, Gil. _

Gil. She had never felt comfortable calling him by his first name. She had known him for over a decade and he had always been Dr. Grissom, Grissom, and on a more personal level he was Griss. She had only called him Gil once, when they were making love and he had asked her to call him by his given name. It had resulted in her breaking into a fit of laughter and he had promptly forbidden her to call him Gil again. Now he was texting her his first name? Why?

Quickly she sent a text message back to his phone, the words forming before she could second guess herself.

_Grissom, I'm not the one that perfected the art of avoidance. That honor goes to you. I suppose I've been a good student,_

_however, because now I've decided that we should spend this time re-evaluating what we expect from one another. Take your sabbatical, _

_make some decisions, and then we'll talk when you can face me. For now, I think that it would be best if we didn't communicate. _

_Sara_

She felt a sense of loss as she hit the send button and imagined Grissom as he read her words. Pain etched her face as she replaced the phone on the dresser and faced the next few weeks.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

And So it Goes...part three

By: Manigault

Note: Thank you to everyone who is reading this and for those who have commented. This chapter is somewhat sappy and I couldn't see it happening on CSI. That said, it's the reason I write fanfic. If you don't like mush then this is fair warning.

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The following weeks crept past as Sara and the rest of the team adjusted to the changes in the lab. Sara's uneasiness around Keppler hadn't lessened, but she begrudingly admitted to herself that he was good at what he did and was proving to be useful on the case they were currrently working.

She had found that living in the suite at the hotel had many advantages, including room service and close accessibility of a fantastic coffee shop. She had worked out an arrangement with the hotel to refrain from changing her sheets or cleaning her room and in return they would pick up her laundry and return it to her the same day. She preferred her own sheets, pillows and towels and thankfully had not encountered any resistance on this front.

Work was much more difficult as she had to endure the questioning looks that were directed her way from people she didn't even know very well. She wondered for the first time if she and Grissom hadn't been as careful as they had imagined themselves to have been over the course of their relationship. Shaking off the feeling of being scrutinized she asked herself if she was being paranoid and had convinced herself that she was when Greg came dashing out of the breakroom calling to her wildly and waving his hands.

"Sara! Come quick! You have a secret admirer!"

Narrowing her eyes at his statement she slowed her pace as she approached the breakroom. Greg's excitement and proclamation of a secret admirer gave her pause and she shook her head at the idea of Grissom sending her something at work that would raise more questions.

Stopping in the doorway she took in the scene in front of her with shock and wonder. Beautiful small flowering plants lined the breakroom counter and the floor beneath the counter. One large vase of red roses was situated in the middle of the display and she felt her breath catch at the fantastic intensity of color that swept over her senses.

"There is a card on each one and they have numbers," Greg said while bouncing lightly on the heels of his toes. When the plants had first begun arriving he had felt a little bit of jealousy that someone was sending them to Sara, but as quickly as that feeling came it fled as he thought how happy the presents should make her feel. He had been worried about her the past few days as she had appeared exhausted.

"Numbers?" Sara repeated with puzzlement. She felt someone hovering behind her and cast a quick look over her shoulder to find an amused Catherine and Warrick eyeing the plants. Taking a step into the room she found her eyes skimming over the plants and landing back on the roses. She counted nine various flowering plants and at least two dozen red roses.

"Each one has a card with it and they are numbered one through ten." Greg pointed at one of the plants and Sara recognized it as the identical plant that Grissom had sent to her years ago when he was making a clumsy apology. "They all have your name on the front and the labs address. No return name and the cards are all sealed."

"Not that you tried snooping," Warrick said with a slight smirk as he looked at the younger man with a shake of his head.

"Of course I snooped, but I didn't get very far," said Greg without apology. "Sara, you're going to share with us who your admirer is aren't you?"

"No." Sara touched the green leaves on the plant numbered_ one _before carefully taking the card and eyeing the second one. Almost numbly she took the cards off each gift until she reached the roses where she stared at the deep red petals with pleasure. She had never received roses from anyone, not even Grissom when they had been dating one another. Would he send them to her now? Irritation creased her brow as she picked up the last card and felt a slight weight. Curious, she considered opening this one first and discarded the thought as she realized there had to be some logic in the numbering.

Without a word to the onlookers she gripped the cards in her hands and quickly left the room to seek the tranquility of Grissom's office. She hadn't been inside the room since he left, but it was the first place she wanted to retreat as she held this link to him in her hands. She wasn't sure if she was annoyed with him disregarding her wishes or if she was relieved that he had recognized the seriousness of her text message.

Locking the door, she moved over to Grissom's desk where she lined the cards up along the edge and studied them with more than a little apprehension. What would he say in a card that he hadn't said before he left for Williams College?

Opening the first card she couldn't help but smile at the simple phrase that was typed on the card.

_I know. I know, Sara, but we can't wait three more weeks to work this out. Read card number two. _

She opened the second card and found three words typed out.

_I love you. _

The third card told her that he missed her and that he dreamed about her every night. The fourth card told her that when he wasn't dreaming of her then he was thinking about her and wanted to see her face. The fifth card said that he was sorry that he had not discussed his plans with her before making his decision but he felt that one word from her about his not going and he wouldn't have gone. The sixth card told her that he needed to get away from Vegas for a few weeks and get his mind cleared. The seventh card informed her that she was the only bright spot in his life and he missed her deeply. The eighth card told her that she would love the college where he was giving the seminar and she should consider taking a vacation out there soon. If she forgave him. The ninth card told her that she held the key to his heart and that card ten held a key to his desk drawer.

Opening the last card, a small key fell into her hand. Studying the small object she felt a small splash land on the desk in front of her and realized that she had allowed a few tears to escape. She drew in a deep breath and used the key to open the top desk drawer. A letter with her name scrawled in Grissom's handwriting greeted her and she touched a tip of her finger to the print.

Opening the letter a ticket fell out and she picked it up, noting the round trip ticket led to the state where Grissom was teaching. There was no date or time on the ticket and she marveled that he had thought to leave it before he left. Had he really hoped that she would hop on a plane and fly out to visit him? She used the back of her hand to wipe away the tears that slid down her cheeks. With shaking hands, she opened the letter and felt her heart skip a beat.

Dearest Sara,

I hope that when you read this letter you would have forgiven me for my abrupt departure from Vegas and indirectly from you. I wanted to discuss this

decision with you for the past few weeks but every time I opened my mouth to bring up the subject I faltered in my resolve. Maybe it comes from years of

making my own decisions or maybe it is fear of relying too much on your opinion, but I needed to get away from Vegas and the lab to sort out my mind

and make a decision that I knew unequivocally to be my own. I know that walking away from you will be the hardest thing I've ever done in my life and I

only hope that you are waiting for me when I return to Vegas. I bought this ticket hoping that you would forgive me before I return to Vegas and will make

the decision to come visit me. I'm not good at showing my emotions, but you know this about me and accept me anyway.

In the back of the drawer is a heirloom that belonged to my grandmother. I wanted to give it to you in person, but leaving was much more difficult than

I expected and I was at a loss for how to approach you after I had mucked things up so horribly. Please take this gift and wear it close to your heart,

knowing that you have mine.

Love,

Grissom

Reaching into the back of the drawer, Sara felt her fingers touch a small box. Her heartbeat picked up as she pulled out the dark blue square box and slowly opened it up to reveal a beautiful sapphire and diamond necklace. It was priceless. Settling back in Grissom's chair she held the necklace and gently rubbed her fingers along the length. An heirloom from his grandmother, she thought with wonder. Grissom had told her about his grandparents and she knew how remarkable they were and how fond he was of the memories he had of summers spent with them. Fingering the necklace, she made a quick decision. Picking up her phone she dialed a number.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

And So it Goes...part four

By: Manigault

Note: Thank you for reading this and again, thank you for all comments. After watching last nights episode some of this story has already been shot down regarding canon such as Catherine not inheriting anything if I heard that correctly. Anyway, for purposes of this story she lied to Nick. Lied. Also, for purposes of this story Grissom is gone six weeks and not four weeks as Grissom stated. Oh, and I guess the team knows where he went...on the show that is.

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Grissom picked up on the first ring and Sara could detect the wariness in his tone as he spoke.

"I went overboard, I know. I also know that you wanted to wait until I come home to speak face to face but I couldn't stand waiting, not knowing what I would find when I did come home."

"Grissom!" Sara had tried several times to cut into his rambling and was finally met with silence. She could imagine his anxiety and took no pleasure in making him suffer and wonder. It wasn't fun. "Grissom, thank you."

"I know that you like vegetation," he said softly. "I wasn't sure if you would like roses but I wanted to send them to you."

"It's the first time anyone has ever sent me roses," she mused and then added with a smile, "I did have a man send a plant to me once."

"Not very romantic of him," said Grissom with a heavy sigh, "unlike sending roses."

"I don't know about that," she countered with amusement, "roses are beautiful but the plants will last much longer."

"I would have had everything sent to the townhome but decided that it would have more impact if you saw everything lined up. It was lined up?"

"It was." Sara thought about the _vegetation_, as Grissom put it, and groaned. "I don't know where I'm going to put all of those plants."

"There should be plenty of room at home for them and you can always leave some of them in my office."

"I'm not staying at your townhome right now, Grissom." The silence on the other end of the line was heavy as she waited for him to speak.

"You moved out? Why?" The betrayal in his voice irritated her more than it should have and she held back from snapping that she was the one that had been betrayed.

"I couldn't breathe when I was there, not since you left." She decided that honesty would be the best approach. "I wasn't sure that you wanted me there if you came home."

"_If _I come home?" Grissom's voice vibrated with anger and she heard something break, almost like he had dropped a glass. "I'm coming home in less than a month Sara, and I hope that you'll be back in our home when I do return. Where are you staying?"

"I've been staying in one of Catherine's hotels. It's nice. I'll put the plants in your townhome and keep them watered, but I don't think that I can stay there. Not right now."

A groan reached her ears and she steeled herself from his reaction. "Honey, I picture you in our bed when I'm trying to sleep. I feel like I have someone waiting at home for me when I finish this seminar."

"I'm sorry to inconvienence you Grissom but I can't be there right now."

"Fly out here to visit me." Grissom said with sudden urgency. "Fly out here and visit me so that we can speak face to face and sort everything out."

"I'm in the middle of a big case, Griss, I can't leave right now." She touched the necklace that she had placed on the desk in front of her as she dialed his number.

As if reading her mind, Grissom asked with a new uncertainity. "You opened the drawer in my office?"

"I did."

"Sara? Don't leave me in limbo."

"I love the necklace, it's beautiful. It's too much though, Grissom, and I'm not sure that I can keep such a treasured heirloom."

"I thought of you the second I held it in my hands," said Grissom in a subdued tone. "It belongs to you. Sara? My students are filing in and I have to go, but do me a favor? Keep the necklace and wear it _for me_._"_

"Okay. Griss?"

"Yes, dear?"

"I do miss you and I love you."

After hanging up from the phone call, Sara lifted the necklace and placed it around her neck. She wanted nothing more than to grab that plane ticket and drive as fast as she could to the airport to catch the first flight to where Grissom waited. She couldn't leave right now, however, and in fact didn't have a day off for the next few days. Maybe Warrick would pick up a day for her since she had taken his days. Was she really contemplating this? Smiling, Sara fingered the necklace and stood up from the desk.

Oh, yeah, she could and the first chance she got she would see him so that they could speak face to face. Gathering the cards she made her way to her locker so that she could stow them safely inside her purse. Insecurity followed her along the hallway and she pushed back the feeling as she tried to recapture the confidence that she had developed in Grissom's feelings for her over the past two years. It had been such a work in progress before he made the sudden revelation that he was leaving. She tried to assure herself that she would make it clear to him that if he ever made an important decision such as leaving Vegas and didn't consult her first then that would be it. No third chances.

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"Everything okay, Sara?"

Catherine stood outside the locker room as Sara stepped out of the room. She couldn't help but be aware of the speculative look in Catherine's eyes as she caught sight of the necklace.

"That's beautiful, Sara, I don't remember you wearing it earlier."

"Thank you," Sara touched the necklace and smiled weakly. "I know it doesn't go with this outfit but I didn't want to lose it." She didn't want to put in back in that drawer, away from her reach. She also knew that Grissom wanted her to wear it and she felt compelled to do so.

"I think that it's time for that dinner," said Catherine with a toss of her hair as she surveyed Sara's guarded expression. "What if I meet you for dinner tommorrow night before we come to work? The hotel where you are staying has a decent restaurant on the same floor as the coffee shop that you love to frequent."

"How did you know I've taken stock in your coffee shop?" asked Sara as she strived for humor.

"You come in every day with a coffee and I recognize the logo, of course."

"Of course," she replied with a faint grin. "I figure since you have been so nice to let me stay in that suite then the least I can do is buy coffee every day."

"And, Bernie tells me that you have never even stepped foot in the casino area. That's remarkable."

"I didn't know that they were watching my every move," said Sara with irritation.

Sensing the shift in mood, Catherine quickly tried to explain her statement. "They aren't watching you, Sara, but Bernie keeps an eye on all the goings on when it concerns the casino. He likes to stay on top of everything and I guess it intrigued him that he has never seen you gamble."

"I don't have any desire to waste my coins in the slot machines and I could care less for playing poker or whatever else. If I did play then they would ban me for counting cards." Sara laughed softly and grinned as Catherine rolled her eyes.

"You telling me that you could win a fortune playing cards if you wanted?"

"Absolutely, it's all logic isn't it?"

"If you say so," Catherine smiled suddenly. "I want to see you in action, Sara, to see if you are as good as you think you are."

"Seriously?"

With a nod, Catherine smiled.

"If I prove that I"m ban worthy then you'll let me have a week off?"

Catherine's eyebrows shot up but she held off on her questions. They would wait until dinner tommorrow night. "You can take a week off anyway if you give me a good reason."

Sara hesitated only briefly before she admitted, "I need time to sort out some personal issues and hopefully I'll be able to move out of the suite when I return to Vegas."

"You're planning on going out of town? Where?" As if she didn't suspect where Sara was going. She was impressed, she had to admit. Vowing to phone Grissom as soon as she and Sara parted ways she had every intention of threatening to beat him upside the head if he ever hurt Sara again. The plants were a nice touch, though, and the necklace was stunning.

"I'd rather not say," said Sara.

"Good enough. We'll pick this up tommorrow night."

Sara shook her head as Catherine waltzed off looking like the cat that just ate the canary. Oh, well. It served Grissom right if Catherine knew about them.For now she needed to wrap up this case and that meant finding Warrick.

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Dinner was more than decent. It was fabulous. Sara had avoided eating in the expensive restaurant, opting for the quick fast food court on the second level of the casino. She was picking up her fourth stuffed mushroom when Catherine asked the dreaded question.

"So, how long have you and Grissom been seeing each other?"

Dropping the mushroom on her plate, Sara sighed and looked up to meet Catherine's gaze. "Almost two years."

Surprise registered in Catherine's eyes as she choked the water she was sipping. "I was thinking more along the lines of two months, not two years! How did you manage to keep this from me and everyone else? Nobody else knows do they?" Catherine's eyes narrowed at this last question and Sara couldn't help but smirk.

"You're the first to my knowledge."

"I better be," Catherine nodded shortly and thought back on her conversation with Grissom yesterday. She had phoned him and demanded he answer her questions regarding Sara. In response he had told her he couldn't talk but if she wanted information regarding his relationship with Sara then ask her. She was miffed when he hung up quickly, leaving her with the same questions that she had when she called him.

"We've been living together for the past nine months," offered Sara. The bitterness of that last admittance wasn't lost on Catherine.

"He didn't discuss this sabbatical with you before he decided to leave?"

"No."

"Bastard." said Catherine.

Sara gave her an odd look but couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips. "I never thought that I would see you be defensive of my position, especially when it comes to Grissom."

"We're both strong independent women, Sara. It's no surprise that we've clashed over the years but you should know that I've always admired you. I also know that Grissom has been obsessed with you for years, even before you came to Vegas. I used to think that you were the one that was pushing him away, but over time I realized that it was all Gil Grissom. His fears that kept you at bay."

"We both had fears, it's just that I've always known that I wanted to be with him and he was certain that I would break his heart."

"And he's broken yours over and over," said Catherine with a touch of anger.

"I think that we've disappointed each other because of our own insecurities." Sara picked up her glass of water and took a sip. "We finally got our acts together two years ago and everything fell into place. I was probably at the most secure level of our relationship when he up and left without discussing this sabbatical. Wait, that's not exactly true. For the few weeks preceding his leaving I did know that something was weighing heavy on his mind, but I couldn't get him to discuss it with me."

"Gil is a very private man. It's remarkable that you've broken through his defenses to the degree that you have." The look in Catherine's eyes was one of admiration and it made Sara feel uncomfortable.

"I suppose he could have left without saying anything at all. I could have been walking the halls trying to find him and everyone would have known except for me." Sara searched for the humor in her own statement and felt nothing close. Deciding to change the subject she waved a hand through the air to indicate the restaurant. "What's remarkable is that you own all of this."

Taking the bait, Catherine sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes. "I inheritated all of this by default. One half brother is dead at the hands of the other brother. I was the only one left to take over and now I don't know if I want the responsibility." Catherine took a bite of her almond crusted salmon and chewed it thoughtfully before adding,

"I've had offers to buy me out. I would be set for life and so would Lyndsey."

"You aren't set for life now?" asked Sara as she took in the expensive decor of the restaurant and thought about the suite she had been staying in. She marveled at the fact that Catherine hadn't resigned as a CSI already.

"It's not who I am or what I want my daughter to see." said Catherine with a light shrug. "There are times when I've thought about quitting so that I can spend more time with Lyndsey, but I've worked hard to get where I am and I love my job."

"You can have both worlds." Sara said without envy. She had poured so much of her own life into work she wasn't sure if she wouldn't go insane if she had the opportunity to quit. Being a CSI gave her purpose and it was one that she shared with Catherine. Who would have thought the two of them would have anything in common other than sharing a bond with Gil Grissom?

"I'll figure it out. For now we'll toast to the future." Catherine picked up a glass of wine and was amused when Sara shook her head. "You're not joining me in a toast?"

Picking up her glass of water, Sara gave her a geniune smile. "I have to be at work in a few hours and my supervisor wouldn't approve."

"Your supervisor is many miles away and I won't tell him."

"That's okay, I need to keep my wits about me if I'm going to prove that I can be banned from the casino." Sara sipped her water and hoped that Catherine wouldn't push the subject.

Thankfully she didn't and the rest of dinner was filled with polite conversation about co-workers and Lyndsey's latest pursuits. After dinner, Sara quickly proved that she was ban worthy and then insisted that Catherine keep the winnings she had accumulated as small payment for allowing her stay in the suite. By the time they reached work, Sara was feeling much better about the future and looking forward to getting away after she helped wrap up her current case.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

And So it Goes...part five (a)

By: Manigault

**Important Note**: I'm trying something different. This was the planned chapter and ending before I discovered the latest spoilers. So, if you want a _sappy happy _ending stop after this one. It's short and it's mushy but heh.

If you crave angst and want a little more then skip this chapter and go immediately to part **b** and read on. And, thanks to everyone reading this story! It's much appreciated.

And, Donna, if you read this it is really good to hear from you!

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Sara was finally on her way to visit Grissom after tying up the latest case and putting the perp behind bars, hopefully for life. Settling back in her seat she pushed images of the case and the lab to the back of her mind and concentrated on her anticipation of seeing Grissom for the first time in almost a month.

Was she being ridiculous flying out here to see him when he would be back in two weeks? She didn't care and as of this second she wanted to dissolve the emptiness and hurt she had felt when he left and simply wrap her arms around him and hold on. At the same time she wanted him to understand the hurt she felt when he had informed her he was going on this sabbatical. She recognized her own contradiction and the thought made her smile inwardly. She had spent years defining Grissom as an enigma and loved him anyway.

By the time she reached the airport, rented a car, and was driving towards Williams College she was confident in her own ability to face Grissom with complete assurance of where she expected to stand in his life from now on out. She would let him know in no uncertain terms that if he expected them to have a relationship then he couldn't shut her out of his life. Any important decisions that were made in the future would have to made together or there was no relationship.

It took her fifteen minutes to find the auditorium where Grissom's seminar was being held and another ten to gather her courage to step inside the room. Familiarity washed over her as she was captured by the sight of Grissom standing in front of the podium, completely absorbed in his lecture. There were a couple dozen students attending the lecture and Sara noted that 90 percent of them were female. Shaking off that fact with a nonchalant shrug, Sara took a seat in the back of the auditorium and focused on the beautiful movements of the man she'd loved for years.

He was in the middle of answering one of the students questions when he stopped mid sentence as his eyes swept over the students heads and landed on the lone figure in the top row of the auditorium. Two dozen heads swiveled around to discover who or what had captured Dr. Grissom's attention and noone was more surprised than Grissom when he couldn't find his own voice.

"Dr. Grissom?" One of his students tried to gain his attention and failing to do so she exchanged amused looks with the man sitting beside her.

If he took his eyes from Sara would she vanish? Clearing his throat, Grissom told his students that he would see them on Monday and then quickly started up the steps leading to the only woman in the world who could leave him flustered.

Her knees felt weak and so she didn't stand as she watched him take the steps two at a time until he was standing in front of where she was sitting.

"Sara, you're really here." Squatting in front of her Grissom reached out to grasp both of her hands in his own as his eyes flicked from the base of her neck where she wore the emerald and diamond necklace and then up to her eyes which were shining with love.

"I needed to see you," said Sara as she leaned forward until her lips brushed his briefly before she settled back in the seat. "It's crazy, but it feels as though you've been gone years instead a mere few weeks. I know that there are so many couples that go months without seeing one another and somehow survive but I'm not like that. I need to touch you and feel you near me."

A beautiful smile lit Grissom's face and he pulled her gently to her feet until she was standing in front of him. "I did learn something important on this sabbatical."

"Oh? Care to share with me?"

"I know that there is no sabbatical without you with me. It's a mistake that I never plan to make again if you'll stick with me."

He touched her chin and stared into her eyes as she swallowed over the lump in her throat and nodded. She met him half way as their lips connected and they began the first phase of another journey together.

The End.

Note: Short, sappy, don't read the next chapter if you liked this one. It is an alternate ending that may go further.


	6. Chapter 6

And So it Goes...part five (b)

By: Manigault

Thanks for the comments everyone! They are very much appreciated and inspiring.

Again, this in an alternative chapter to the previous ending due to spoilers and may continue for another chapter or so.

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Circumstances have a way of changing plans and in Sara's case she found herself second guessing her motives for flying out to visit Grissom. Images of the day he infomred her that he was going on sabbatical kept playing in her mind and the hurt from that day kept creeping inside, marring her anticipation of seeing him again. Nightmares kept her awake at night and the feelings of abandonment found a hole through her barriers and settled deep within her mind.

By the time she wrapped up her case she had decided that she wasn't going to Williams College. She wasn't ready to face Grissom and discuss the reasons for the pain she was experiencing. She wasn't sure that she understood the reasons herself, she only felt a need to put up a wall in a measure of keeping him from destroying what self preservation she had left.

He had sent plants and given her loving notes and a necklace that was an heirloom. He thought that he could fix everything and yet he'd failed to apologize for not including her in his decision. If he'd come to her in the weeks before he decided to go on sabbatical and asked her what she thought would she have understood? She'd like to think she would and yet if she was honest with herself then she knew that she would probably have still felt like he was leaving her and not just Vegas or the lab as he tried to explain.

That left her in an uncomfortable position and one in which she questioned her own motives. Did she move back into the townhome or stay put where she was until Grissom returned and they could speak face to face? The more she fought with her emotions the more she convinced herself that she couldn't be bought off with plants and pretty notes. Most of her adult life had been built around Grissom. She was in her mid twenties when she first met him at the seminar she was attending and the attraction was instantaneous. He once teased her that she remembered everything he said and it was the truth. It was both the gift and the curse of a very well tuned memory and as she struggled to sleep it was the latter that plaqued her thoughts.

She remembered making love with Grissom in the early days of their relationship and him telling her that she was his life and that he would never leave her alone. He told her that he had fought his attraction to her for so long and couldn't risk everything he had built on the possibility that she would grow tired of him and leave him for someone else. She assured him that he was the only man she wanted and that she would stay with him for the remainder of her life as long as he never left her. Key words, she thought now as she paced around the suite. His assurances had led them into a comfortable relationship and by the time she moved in with him she had no doubts that he meant what he had said to her on so many occasions. Words. Sara picked up his letter and re-read his words for the umpteenth time. Pretty words but actions were what really counted.

When Grissom had first broached the subject of leaving Vegas she thought that he meant they would get away someplace together. They would escape the lab and Vegas and hole up in some place far away from death and lies. When she realized that he intended to leave her behind on his trip to find some measure of peace then she had felt stunned and betrayed. Those feelings were building up inside of her again the more she thought about everything and the closer it came to the day she was to fly to Massachusetts.

The day before she was to leave she steeled herself and made a phone call. He didn't answer and she realized that he was probably in the middle of his lecture. It would be easier this way and she left a brief message that she would not be flying out to Williams College and that she would see him when he returned home. She felt her words were like ice to her own ears and she marveled at the intensity of her own emotions. Where was this coming from? Picking up her cell phone once more she made another appointment-this time with the counselor she had developed a comfort zone with over the past few years.

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"Sara? Aren't you supposed to be on a plane flying off someplace nice and cold?" Catherine had cornered Sara in the locker room after her initial shock when the younger woman had made an appearance for assignments.

"I changed my plans." The clipped tone boded no further questions, but Catherine ignored the hint and pushed on.

"Is it Grissom? Did he say something to piss you off since we talked?"

Slamming the locker door, Sara turned towards Catherine and gave her a quick shake of the head. "No, it's me. I decided that I'm not ready to jump on a plane and fly out to a place where I wasn't invited in the first place."

Narrowing her eyes, Catherine had to say it. "You've done a 180? You know he left a ticket for you and that letter. He wanted you with him."

"At his convenience." Sara shrugged her jacket on and started out of the locker room to catch up with Nick and Greg who were on their way to a 419. Turning back around when she reached the door Sara said softly. "I don't think we should talk about Grissom okay? I'm working through everything in the only way I know how."

Catherine took out her cell and stared at it for a second before putting it back on her hip. She and Grissom were not as close as they used to be and she didn't feel she had a right to phone him up and quiz him about a relationship he had kept private for two years. In fact, Grissom had kept a tight seal on his feelings for Sara since the first time he mentioned her name after meeting her at a seminar over a decade ago. He was smitten and she had teased him relentlessly about it until he had crisply told her not to mention it again. She had been surprised when he invited Sara to Vegas in order to investigate Warrick and more surprised to discover that she actually respected the younger CSI. Now Grissom and Sara had to work through their own issues. She had other fish to fry and that included some scheme Keppler was cooking up to catch a suspect.

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"Would you answer your freakin' phone, Sara." Greg glared at the object on her hip with disgust. "I'm trying to run these prints and you keep standing there as if you don't hear your own phone ringing."

Sara reached down and pulled the phone off her hip, checking the name in the text before excusing herself and stepping from the room. "It's not a good time for me to talk." She heard Grissom's frustrated sigh over the line and spoke quickly before he could ask her why. "I need to help Greg with some prints. Bye."

Disconnecting, she fought back the wave of emotions that included a heavy dose of guilt and focused on the task at hand. She needed to regain some control. It couldn't be all in Grissom's hands, not ever again.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

And So it Goes...part six

By: Manigault

Thank you for reading this and thank you for all comments.

I'm turning this chapter into both Grissom pov and Sara pov. My muse has pushed me into taking a direction that I've been wanting to test for awhile. It doesn't fall in line with the spoilers that I'm aware of, but I hope it works. Please enjoy.

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"Griss! You did return! How've you been?"

Turning at the greeting from Nick, Grissom held one hand palm up. "No hugs, Nick. I told you that I'd be back."

Standing beside Nick, Warrick gave the now blushing man a strange look. "Hugs? You're kidding, right?"

"I was kidding," replied Grissom, taking pity on the flustered Nick as he changed the direction of the conversation to one that he was really interested in. "You guys working on a case?"

Warrick shook his head in the negative. "It's a slow night."

Grissom shifted uneasily and looked around the hall. "So, the rest of the team?"

"Catherine and Keppler are working on a homicide. Greg's off tonight and I'm not sure where Sara is right now." Nick grimaced. "Actually, she's probably trying to convince Keppler and Catherine that they need her help going through evidence."

"It wouldn't hurt to pitch in and give each other a hand if it's a slow night." Grissom's tone was light as he spoke over his shoulder while walking briskly for his office. He wanted to search for Sara and let her know that he was back, but he didn't want to be too obvious.

Opening his office door, he stood there for a only a second before turning on his heel and heading back down the hallway. Screw obvious. He wanted to see Sara and let her know he was back.

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Adjusting her mask to cover her nose and mouth, Sara leaned inside the SUV and sprayed luminol over the floorboards. She was so absorbed in her work she was unaware of the man who was now leaning against the cars door frame, that is until he spoke, and then she jumped so fast her head rammed into the steering wheel.

"Ouch!" Sara rubbed the top of her head as she backed out of the car to face the owner of that unexpected voice.

"Honey? Are you okay?" Grissom reached forward to touch her head only to find empty air beneath his hand as Sara took several steps back.

"I didn't expect you today." Sara stared at him as if he were an hallucination. "In fact you're not supposed to back until next week."

"I was ready to come home and the lecture was already strung out as long as it could go." Grissom wondered why she was acting so distant and he took another step towards her when she shook her head.

"I'm working on a case right now, Grissom, and besides we're at work." Pulling the mask back into place, Sara turned away from him and bent back into the car to continue her search for evidence. She could feel his eyes boring into her back and instinctively felt the urge to turn and embrace him, reassure him that she was happy that he was back home. However, it was something stronger that prevented her from caving into this instinctive urge to comfort Grissom. She needed to protect herself from the hurt she felt when he left and the only way she knew to do that was to distance herself from him on a personal level.

Confusion settled behind Grissom's eyes as he lingered beside the car and watched Sara with a puzzled expression. He had expected something different from her when she saw him after weeks of separation. He knew she had been upset with him when he decided to leave but he was back now. Everything should have eased back into place when he returned, but it wasn't, and with sudden conviction he decided it was proabably something to do with location.

"We'll talk at home." Grissom said softly, not waiting for confirmation as he left the room. He didn't see the look on Sara's face or he would have known that conversation wouldn't be taking place anytime soon.

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Sara didn't see Grissom before shift was over and was grateful she wouldn't need to have any explanations at the ready, especially since it was something that she was struggling to grasp herself. Sitting in her hotel suite she closed her eyes and recalled her first image of the newly returned Grissom. He was so handsome and he was so confident that she would be thrilled with his return. This was the part that bugged her the most. Why wasn't she more excited at his return? _She had missed him_. _She loved him. _

It was something akin to fear that crept into her mind when she'd heard his voice tonight. It wasn't fear of him, but it was fear of not knowing what was going on inside his mind or knowing when he would leave her permanently. She needed to be in control of her emotions and not so completely wrapped up in the actions of another person, especially one that could have such a strong hold on her mental well being.

She knew that she should phone him and let him know that she wasn't ready to talk. Taking a deep breath she picked her cell phone up and prepared herself to hear his voice.

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Grissom tossed his cell phone on the coffee table and rubbed the back of his neck. She wasn't ready to talk to him and couldn't explain why she didn't want to come home. He couldn't understand what the problem was and why she felt this need to shut him out. She was his best friend. Looking around his home he experienced a panicky feeling at the thought of Sara never coming back to him. Is this the way she had felt when he left for Williams College?

Shaking his head, Grissom dimissed it as illogical thinking. Of course Sara knew that he was coming back after the seminar and only needed to get away from Vegas and the lab for awhile to refresh his mind. It had nothing to do with Sara and she realized that, right? Walking into the bedroom Grissom froze in the doorway and stared at the room. Something was wrong. Taking a step inside the room he felt his chest tighten as he recognized what was missing-everything that belonged to Sara was gone.

Opening the nightstand drawer on her side of the bed Grissom felt his knees weaken as he collapsed on the side of the bed and stared into the empty recesses with a feeling of complete dread. Why would she take every small momento that she kept in this drawer unless she had no plans on returning? He felt a sudden urge to search the rest of his townhome for some clue that she had lived there for the past nine months and many nights before that over the two years of their relationship. Relief swept through him when he found that many of her clothes remained in their closet along with a multitude of shoes. Going through the dresser drawers he found that much of her stuff was gone but enough remained to calm his nerves considerably.

Grissom spent the next few hours pacing the townhome and racking his brain over what had upset Sara so much that she felt the need to run and hide. What could have changed in a few short weeks?

Holding one of her favorite t-shirts he placed it on the bed and decided that he needed to get away from the townhome until this strange feeling of abandonment left him. It was without much thought he found himself heading back to the lab and to his office to sort through mail and get acquainted with the cases that had transpired while he had been gone.

There wasn't much mail to organize as Catherine had taken on the job with her usual efficiency and left the minimal letters that appeared to be addressed to him without connection to the lab. Grissom shook his head as he tossed the small pile of requests for his services in another stack and paused while reaching for another letter as his attention was suddenly riveted by something that caught the corner of his eye.

Standing abruptly, Grissom walked over to a brown box that was resting on a shelf catty-corner to his desk. Picking up the parcel he squinted as he read the return label and felt the blood drain from his face. The label read simply_ Miniature Crafts, Inc_. and the package was addressed to Dr. Gilbert Grissom. Placing the box on his desk, Grissom phoned Brass and then spent the next ten minutes gathering his kit so that he could process what he strongly suspected to be another crime scene.

"You think this is another crime that has already been committed?" asked Brass who had joined him minutes before he began the process of opening the box. Grissom didn't look up and therefore failed to see that Brass was joined by Sophia and Catherine.

"We'll find out in a minute." Grissom lifted the lid of the box and found himself holding his breath.

"Well? Are you going to take it out?" Sophia's question drew Grissom's attention for a brief second before he looked back inside the box. A thin sheet of paper covered the top of the plastic container, effectively hiding the interior of the crime scene.

Taking a knife Grissom cut the edges so that the box would fall away on all four sides. Within seconds the miniature crime scene was revealed, quickly followed by a stunned gasp by Grissom who was frantically reaching for his cell phone.

"She's not answering." Grissom gripped his phone until his knuckles were white from the pressure.

"Who isn't answering Gil?" Catherine tried to catch his eyes that were swinging wildly around the room as a sinking feeling clutched her gut. She risked a look at the crime scene and shook her head. She didn't recognize the bedroom that was depicted. A queen size bed filled one section of the room and on this bed was a figure of a brunette with no obvious wounds. The bedspread was a deep burgandy with an almost feminine touch interwoven in the pattern that spread from it's center to each edge, meshing with the burgundy runner. On each side of the bed were night stands, each holding a sleek lamp with burgandy shades. Picture frames, the images too small to identify without a magnifying glass, stood on each small dresser. Other details blurred before Grissom's eyes as he struggled to arrange his mind in some manner of logic.

"It's not possible," Grissom mumbled almost to himself, "This was sent weeks ago before I left for Williams College and I was home only a few hours ago."

"Home? What are you talking about Gil?" Brass stepped forward to study the miniature crime scene. "Is this _your _bedroom?"

Nodding, Grissom locked eyes with Catherine and asked tersely, "Is she here yet Catherine? I need to find her right away."

"She called earlier and left a message that she wasn't coming in tonight." Catherine gave him a tight smile of reassurance. "I'll call Bernie and have him check her room. I think that she needs to come in right away if you are sure this is what you are thinking it is."

Brass looked from Grissom to Catherine and finally growled out a protest. "Would you stop with the riddles, people? I'm feeling a bit out in left field here and I don't like what my suspicions are starting to suggest."

"Where is she? What room Catherine?" Grissom didn't feel like waiting for Sara to come into the lab. He needed to see her immediately and felt a protective urge to not let her leave her hotel room without him.

Catherine sent Brass an apologetic smile as she told Grissom, "I'll drive. Let's go."

Grissom's legs felt numb and he had no idea how he managed to take one step in front of the other, but he made it to the door of his office.

"Gil? Are you going to share with the rest of us?" Brass shook his head as Grissom, followed closely by Catherine, disappeared from sight. Turning to Sophia he exchanged curious looks with the younger officer and then felt the need to add quickly. "We need to keep a lid on this for the present, understand? At least until I speak with Gil and decide how to proceed."

"Apparently it's his home." Sophia walked over to the desk and bent over the model to study the details more throughly. "Fascinating. I never guessed that they would have the courage to step over that line."

"Sophia." Brass's warning tone didn't stop the woman from examining the crime scene. "We don't know who that is or what this implies. Remember that."

A smirk settled on Sophia's face as she nodded to Brass that she understood--she understood too well.

TBC

Note: Okay, please let me know what you think and if you like the direction this is taking. So funny how I started this story with one intention and it morphed into something else entirely.


	8. Chapter 8

And So it Goes...part seven

By: Manigault

Thank you Thank you for sticking with this story and going along for the ride. Every comment is very much appreciated.

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Pounding on her hotel room door brought Sara out of a restless sleep and into a sitting position where she pressed a palm against the middle of her forehead in an attempt at gathering her bearings.

"Sara? Sara, open the door!"

Pulling her hand away from her forehead Sara stared in disbelief towards the door where Grissom's urgent voice was coupled with the pounding on the door. Throwing her sheet off, she didn't bother pulling on pants or sliding on her slippers as she made her way slowly across the room. With a deep breath, Sara turned the knob on the door but left the safety latch securely in place.

Peering through the small opening she found a frantic Grissom standing in the hallway beside a very concerned Catherine. His hair was mussed and he had a day's stubble as he leaned his face close to the crack in the door in an effort to soak her in with his eyes.

"Honey? Open the door, please, it's an emergency."

Sliding the lock off of the door, Sara was confounded by this side of Grissom and the fact that he didn't care that Catherine was a witness to his behaviour. She barely had the door open when he was pushing his way inside and enveloping her in his arms before she could react.

"Grissom? _What is wrong with you_?" Sara pushed him gently back and cut her eyes over his shoulder to gauge Catherine's opinion of his actions. With a shrug of her thin shoulders, Catherine motioned back to Grissom who had released her from his embrace but was still clutching her elbows in his hands.

"He can explain, but I agree with him that it's urgent." Catherine closed the door behind them and stepped inside the room. She had debated with herself on whether or not she should leave them alone but decided Sara would be more receptive of the news if she added her own opinion of the miniature crime scene she had seen on the desk in Grissom's office.

Grissom finally released her arms when she took a step backwards, but his intense eyes swept over her from head to toe making her feel exposed. For the first time since hearing the pounding on the door Sara realized that she was wearing nothing but a long sleeve shirt-Grissom's long sleeve shirt. _Oh, Shit. _

"Explain what was so important you couldn't call me on the phone to tell me?" Sara hugged her arms close to her chest and waited for him to give a plausible explanation.

"I opened a box that was delivered sometime while I was on sab---," Grissom's voice faltered over the word that had irritated Sara in a previous conversation and rephrased his explanation. "while I was teaching the seminar at Williams College. It was another miniature crime scene."

Grissom waited for this to sink in as Sara asked the inevitable question. "And this pertains directly to me...how?"

Clearing his throat, Grissom decided to be blunt. "It was my bedroom this time. Our bedroom."

Finding her voice, Sara repeated his words back to him in an attempt to make some sense of what he was telling her and the implications that were glaringly obvious.

"Our bedroom? The man who made these replicas is dead, Grissom. You saw him..." She didn't finish the thought of how Ernie Dell had shot himself before Grissom's eyes and how that event had been a catalyst that had driven Grissom away from Vegas and ultimately away from her.

"I haven't had time to analyze it. There are many questions, Sara, but the most important one was finding you and reassuring myself that you're okay."

Narrowing her eyes on his ragged face she asked the question he was dreading. "Was there a figure in that crime scene?"

A nod was the only response she received and a quick look at Catherine confirmed it.

"Female?" asked Sara.

"And a brunette." Catherine added with a pointed look at Grissom and then Sara.

"Well, it's not me." Sara gave a small shake of her head and tried to smile. "I'm standing here very much alive." Although in truth she had felt half alive in the past few weeks, but that was not something she wished to voice.

"It's our room, I'm certain of _that_ fact. And, I'm certain there was no body on the bed when I left this afternoon, so either there is an accomplice with a sick sense of humor or he's changed his M.O."

"He was waiting for you to return before he tries to finish the scenario?"

Grissom literally blanched at Sara's question. "I'm relieved now that you moved out while I was gone. Some lunatic managed to get inside our home and glean enough detail to replicate our bedroom down to the pictures on the night stand." Grissom walked across the room as he spoke and picked up a a picture frame that Sara had placed beside the bed. In the photograph Grissom had on his favorite shirt while Sara wore a sleeveless blue dress that matched his blue Hawaiian print. He stood behind her, both arms wrapped around her middle as she smiled up and into his face with unadulterated love. The picture was taken a little over a year before, during a rare weekend at Lake Tahoe. For not the first time in the past few weeks Grissom questioned why he hadn't taken a sabbatical with Sara and perhaps returned to a place where they had found so much peace.

Tearing his eyes away from Grissom, still holding that picture, Sara searched for a pair of jeans and began pulling them on. "I'd like to see this model." Sara zipped her jeans and looked around for her bra and a different shirt.

Replacing the picture on the night stand Grissom watched as Sara pulled open a dresser drawer and took out a dark blue bra that he didn't recognize. Catching his eye, Sara nodded towards the bathroom. "I think that I'll get dressed in there." Picking up a long sleeved black shirt Sara moved into the bathroom and shut the door.

He couldn't see her even though he knew she was only a few feet away and safe. It was killing him to be so close and not be able to reach out and take her in his arms without her flinching. There was more than a door between them but that was the least of his worries at the present time, someone was threatening his life by threatening Sara and he had to keep her safe.

"Are you okay, Gil?"

Grissom remembered that Catherine was in the room for the first time since he had picked up that photograph and forgotten everyone except Sara. With a slight shake of his head, Grissom said softly, "No, I'm not okay. I thought this killer was gone and now I'm finding that he's not only still out there but he's targeting Sara."

"I think that he's targeting you and Sara is the way he's doing that." Catherine suggested as she walked over to the picture he had replaced and picked it up to study the surreal image of a happy Grissom and Sara. "This is beautiful, Gil, I hope you didn't screw it up by leaving."

Taking the picture from her hands, Grissom put it back on the nightstand and frowned at Catherine. "I didn't leave Sara."

"She doesn't see it that way."

"I'm not discussing this with you, Catherine, so let's focus on keeping her safe."

Seconds later the bathroom door opened and Sara stepped into the room. "I'm ready, let's go."

Grissom took her by the elbow as they left the hotel and to his relief she didn't object or push him away.

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'_Is it my imagination or is everyone staring at me?' _Sara wondered, already feeling unnerved by the thought of a crime scene with a figure supposedly representing herself lying in the middle of Gil Grissom's bed. She didn't need the speculation that would be running rampant in the lab after word of the model got out. Casting a look at Grissom from out of the corner of her eye she wondered what he was thinking as they walked along the corridor towards his office.

Brass met them at the door, an apology ready on his lips. "I told Sophia not to let this get out, but I left the room for fifteen minutes to run a few checks on the delivery of this package and when I returned several lab techs were in her gawking. Sophia swears that she didn't tell them."

Rolling his eyes, Grissom walked into the room and headed straight for his desk where the miniature crime scene was sitting undisturbed. "They didn't touch anything?"

"They said that they didn't, only looked." Brass stared at Sara who was now standing beside Grissom, her concentration on the model in front of them.

"It's unreal. Do you have your magnifying glass?" Sara turned to Grissom who was already opening his top desk drawer and pulling out a magnifying glass which he then handed to her along with a pair of tweezers. He leaned over her shoulder as she carefully plucked one of the pictures up and brought it up towards her. It was the photograph on her night stand at the hotel. The detail was perfect and must have taken hours of planning to execute. Her hand was shaking by the time she replaced the picture and put the tweezers and magnifying glass back on the desk before easing herself into a chair.

"Catherine? Jim? Could you give us a few minutes alone?" Grissom tilted his head towards the office door and they both took the hint, but not before Catherine offered to make some coffee and Brass insisted they needed to form a game plan.

Once alone, Grissom risked placing a hand on Sara's shoulder before squatting down beside the chair until they were eye level. "We'll find out who made this and I promise that we'll stop him before he hurts either one of us."

"There must be a connection with Ernie Dell and the person that made this, so we start there. We need to pull his file and double check everyone connected with him."

Sara didn't shrug off his hand, but she did tense when he rubbed his thumb over her collar bone. "I think that we need to let Catherine and the guys check the townhome out for any evidence."

"It was weeks ago, Grissom, do you seriously think there would be any evidence if he hasn't left any before now?"

"We have to be thorough and check every angle."

Sara lifted the magnifying glass and looked back inside the model. "There's a newspaper on your desk." She looked up and met his eyes. "The desk isn't in your bedroom, it's in the other room so he combined these into one room. Did you see a newspaper when you were home?"

"I didn't look in the office. I looked everywhere else but didn't go into that room." He and Sara spent most of their time in the kitchen, den or bedroom. They seldom hung out in the office choosing to keep their personal time doing other things that didn't involve the computer. When they read books or journals they tended to curl up on the sofa or in bed.

"I'll ask Warrick, Nick and Greg to join us and catch them up to speed. They can check that room and let us know what they find."

"I'm going with them to look around." Sara shivered as she thought about the last time she was in the townhome which was only two days ago when she stopped in to water the plants she had left scattered around the den. She felt dazed knowing that she had unwittingly put herself in danger everytime she had walked inside the townhome. Still somewhat dazed she said weakly, "I need to water the plants."

"Greg can water the plants. I don't want you going near there until we catch this mad man." Grissom couldn't stop his gaze from shifting to the figure on the bed. He was furious that this stranger could take something beautiful and tarnish it forever. He would never be able to look at that bedspread without seeing an image of that brunette figure lying on the bed.

Following his gaze, Sara studied the figure before picking up the tweezers and reaching inside the room to pluck it out of the model. "That's a replica of my lingerie, the hot pink number that I never got a chance to wear." Sara had bought it five weeks before Grissom told her about the sabbatical he was taking. She'd planned on wearing it on the anniversary of the first time Grissom and she made love, which would have been two weeks ago. Maybe it was silly, but it had been part of a romantic weekend she was planning when he'd gone and turned her world upside down.

"I've never seen it." Grissom gave her a puzzled look and waited for an explanation which was interrupted by the entrance of Catherine with two steaming cups of coffee.

"I don't know how you like your coffee so I brought some cream and sugar." Catherine paused and took in the tension that was vibrating around the room.

Standing slowly, Grissom walked around the desk to take the coffee. "Thank you, Catherine. Could you have Warrick, Nick and Greg join us?"

Catherine phoned Warrick as Grissom added splenda and creamer to Sara's coffee before placing it in front of her where she gave him a quick smile in return. Her eyes were still trained on that tiny figure that was wearing a very personal piece of her clothing. Did he take a cut out of her lingerie to match that material and the hot pink shade?

Replacing the figure back in the model she shuddered again at the thought of her personal space being violated. Grissom's space was also violated, she reminded herself as she picked up the coffee and took a sip. When Grissom first mentioned the replica was of his bedroom her fear had been that it would be a male figure of Grissom that was placed inside the model. Her relief was short lived, but it was there nonetheless. Grissom was a target, but not the direct target as the female figure implied.

"I've been to the townhouse several times since I moved out. If this person wanted to attack me he had plenty of opportunity to do that when I went there to water the plants."

"He may have been waiting until I returned." Grissom argued with a hint of exasperation. "He is arrogant enough to taunt me with the model of my bedroom. We're not going over there."

"I'll be with you and the guys. It can't get much safer than that Grissom."

"It's not like she's going over there without backup, Gil. Jim will be with us I'm sure." Catherine waved his scowl away with the back of her hand as the door opened allowing the mentioned detective to enter, along with Warrick and Greg.

"What's going on? I've heard some rumors but dismissed the lab talk as typical gossip." Warrick scanned the room for confirmation and felt a stab of disbelief that the rumors could have some basis. His eyes settled on the model and he stepped up to the desk to inspect what the commotion was about and why everyone in the room was filled with tension. "_Shit_."

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

And So it Goes

By: Manigault

Note: Thanks to everyone reading this story and for those who made comments...double thanks.

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Warrick stood over the model, his mind processing while his eyes swept over the details before meeting Sara's troubled gaze.

"This was supposed to be over. Was this sent before Dell shot himself?" Although Warrick spoke directly to Sara, his question was directed towards the room in general.

Brass offered the only information that they had on the time frame of the delivery of the package. "We know that someone brought it after Gil left for vacation."

"It wasn't a vacation." Grissom interjected with a quick glance towards Sara. "The box wasn't here the day I left and since that was several weeks ago it's going to be harder to trace the person that brought it here."

"I'm working on it. The front desk has no record of the delivery and I have Archie going through tapes of the past few weeks to see who came in the front door." Brass glanced around the room at the concerned expressions.

Greg, who hadn't spoken since entering the office, now stood beside Warrick and shook his head in dismay. "How long have you two been together?"

"We're not together." Sara protested without much conviction. "Grissom has been gone for weeks now."

"I'm standing right here and it's news to me that we're no longer _together_." Grissom couldn't keep the exasperation or hurt from his voice as he turned to face Sara who kept her profile to him and her eyes focused on the model.

Sara felt his stare and the curious looks of their co-workers as she finally looked up and turned to face him. "This isn't the time for this discussion, Grissom, we need to go to the townhome and process any evidence."

Clearing his throat, Brass offered to drive them to the townhome and suggested that the sooner they started out the better. He didn't add that the tension between Grissom and Sara was so thick he felt his own chest constricting from the overload of emotions. Greg was about to ask his prior question when the door burst open and Nick jogged into the room.

"I've just heard the craziest rumors. You've got to hear this one..." Nick's smile faded as he took in the occupants of Grissom's office.

Warrick and Greg stepped back from the desk as Nick approached offering a full view of the model that was the talk of the lab. Nick stared at the model before demanding answers.

"You know as much as we do, Nick, but there is no way we're going to let someone harm Sara." Warrick spoke with such assurance, but it did nothing to help Grissom's peace of mind.

"It's important that Sara is not out of our sights until this bastard is caught." Grissom scowled at the model and felt a sudden urge to smash it into small pieces. The feeling was strange to him and he felt himself moving away from his desk so he wouldn't give into the impulse and ruin what small bit of evidence they did have.

His movement wasn't lost on Sara who was trying to keep herself from moving around the desk to comfort him and let him know that she had no plans on allowing someone to take her life. She valued it too much even though she was in some kind of funk that was like wading through a swamp in high heels.

Sara was surprised when Grissom didn't argue with her as they each filed out of the office to head to the townhome, his only insistence that she ride with him. Greg, who made it known that he was assigning himself as her personal bodyguard, insisted that he was riding with them as he trailed along behind Sara. Casting an appreciative look in the younger mans direction, Grissom was silently thankful that Sara had loyal friends and only hoped it was enough to keep her safe.

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Grissom turned the key in the front door of his townhome and stepped inside as a beeping sound shattered the silence. Without thinking, Sara reached up and punched in the code to turn off the alarm, effectively silencing the warning beeps.

"The place should be secure since you had your alarm on, but I'll do a quick walk through to be positve." Brass pulled his gun out as he moved away from the investigators who were now crowded inside the townhomes foyer.

Warrick nodded towards the alarm system. "How long have you had that?"

Grissom followed his line of thought and grimaced as realization struck him. "I often forget to turn it on. I must have left it off one day, allowing this person access."

"You couldn't know." Sara felt compelled to reassure him of this even while shooting him an annoyed look. It was true that he could be forgetful, but in his defense she was the one that had insisted they use the alarm system when she had moved in. She wasn't even sure why it had become so important to her but somewhere along the line she felt more secure knowing it was there and was determined to take advantage of it.

"It's not okay. We had an agreement and I failed."

When Sara had agreed to move in with him he had assured her that he would turn the alarm on whenever he left.

"All clear." Brass informed them as he replaced his gun and walked back into the den unaware of the uncomfortable silence that had swept the small group.

Nick was the first to hold up his kit and nod towards the hallway. "You want me and Warrick to process the bedroom?"

If anything, the atmosphere grew more uncomfortable as Sara locked her arms at the elbows and Grissom shook his head. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea. The man wouldn't leave prints and most likely took numerous photographs."

"I know that he opened at least one drawer." Sara unfolded her arms and moved slowly towards the bedroom as she cast a glance in Nick's direction. "You can process the handles on the drawers. You never can tell how careless a perpetrator can be."

"This place has changed dramatically, Gil." Catherine drew his attention as he was taking a step to follow after Sara. Touching his arm, she suggested in a low voice that he give Sara a little space.

"She's had over a month." Grissom grumbled as he shrugged off her arm and moved towards the bedroom.

"And whose fault is that?" Catherine shot back before he'd taken four steps.

"Mine, Catherine, it's all mine."

Grissom paused in the doorway where Nick was already busy dusting the handles on the dresser drawers. Sara had put on gloves and was about to help Nick process when Grissom spoke much more sharply than he intended.

"You can't process this, Sara." Catching her eyes as her head snapped up at his words, he added with a softer tone. "It could compromise the case we're building against this person."

Sara knew that he was right, but it stung. She moved away from Nick, unwittlingly stopping beside the bed as Grissom's eyes widened. Without seeing Girssom's reaction she sat on the edge of the bed and felt herself jump as he barked for her not to sit there.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Sara, noticing that Nick had stopped processing to glare over at Grissom.

Clearing his throat, Grissom waved a hand towards the bed. "That's where the figure of you was placed."

Scrambling off the bed, Sara looked at the spot she had been sitting and realized that he was right. Weird. It was much too strange for her to take in as images of past mini crime scenes and the victims placed in the exact positions came to mind. Risking a glance over at Grissom she noticed that his eyes had a glazed over look as he stared at the bed where she had been sitting only seconds before. How would she feel if the figure had been intended to represent Grissom?

Taking a deep breath she glanced over at Nick, who had returned to his task, and then moved over to stand in front of Grissom. "I'm okay, Griss. You need to put that image out of your mind. It's not going to happen."

"I need to throw that bedspread away." Grissom's eyes altered from glazed to wild as he scanned the room. "It's time to remodel this whole bedroom."

"If that's what you want, Grissom, then when this is over we'll do that."

If Grissom heard her statement he gave no sign as he walked quickly over to the bed and reached out to grab the bedspread. Pulling it from the bed, he flung the material to the floor along with the sheets, then found himself staring at the stripped bed with little satisfaction. Sara made no move to admonish his actions and hoped that Nick would keep his silence on this uncharacteristic reaction from Grissom. With a look into the hallway, Sara couldn't see the other team members and when she turned back to the room she found that Nick was standing inches from her face.

"I'm finished processing the drawers, Sara, so I think that I'll go check on Warrick and Greg." Lowering his voice even more than he was already speaking, Nick said with assurance. "I won't say anything, don't worry. You know what Sara?" Nick didn't wait for a response but added, "I don't blame Grissom for reacting strongly and I would be disappointed if he didn't."

Left alone in the bedroom she had shared with Grissom, Sara eyed the tangle of bedspread and sheets before quietly approaching him and pressing her head against the middle of his back. She felt the muscles along his spine ripple from her touch and knew that she was a goner. She couldn't walk away from Grissom anymore than she could stop breathing.

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After closing the door on his way out of the bedroom, Nick walked into the den to discover the rest of the team sitting on the sofa discussing the possibilities of how the perpetrator had gained entry and how he knew the habits of the past victims.

"Did we ever check for small hidden cameras?" asked Greg.

"Hidden cameras. Like spy stuff?" Warrick shook his head.

"Why not? You know with todays technology you can hide a camera in anything as simple as a book. It's pretty cool." Greg looked over at Nick to give him some support.

"More like scary." Catherine shivered with her statement, but she thought it was plausible.

"It's possible. We can get some equipment and sweep the rooms. Jim?" Nick looked over at Brass who was already on his feet and pulling out his radio.

"It makes sense and it also tells me that this lunatic is possibly watching us as we speak. He knows our every move if what Greg suspects is true." Brass requested some equipment be brought to Grissom's townhome and released the button before turning back to the room. "We can search everything while we wait. Radios. Clocks. These things can be hidden anywhere, like Greg said."

"Oh, shit." Warrick rubbed his jaw wondering how many times that sentiment was springing to his lips today. This was too much and way too unnerving. "We should warn Grissom about the possibility of cameras in the bedroom."

"Give them a minute." Nick suggested with a quick glance towards the door. "If our perpetrator is watching then he's already seen enough to know that we're on to him."

"He knew that when he sent the package to Grissom." Warrick stood up and moved to the stereo. "I'll start with this."

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"We bought that bedspread after you moved in so that means this _person _invaded our home in the past year and that points to the fact that I'm the one that didn't turn on the alarm system."

Sara felt his words vibrate against her face as she moved her hands up his arms and then slowly turned him around until he was facing her as her chin now pressed against his sternum and she was looking up into his eyes.

"I don't blame you Griss, not for that."

Bringing his hands up to touch her cheek, Grissom said hollowly, "But you do blame me for going to Williams College."

"You didn't discuss that decision with me. It was almost as though we had taken a leap backwards in our relationship and you were oblivious."

"I'm sorry." Grissom leaned down and brushed his lips over her forehead. "I'm sorry for not discussing it with you and I'm sorry for ever leaving you in the first place."

Pushing gently away from him, Sara shook her head with a touch of sadness. "It's not that simple, Grissom. I waited years for you. I moved to Vegas and built my world around you. A smile. A comment. That look you would sometimes get in your eyes when you opened up to me. I gave myself to you completely and you didn't trust me enough to include me in your decision."

Sara couldn't believe they were having this conversation. Not now of all times. Not when they were being targeted by a seriel killer and their whole team was in the next room.

"We need to join the rest of the team." Sara said after several uncomfortable seconds elapsed.

"I'd like to discuss this now."

Sara was already moving towards the door as she spoke. "Later, Grissom, we'll talk later."

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

And So it Goes

By: Manigault

Thanks for reading this! Double thanks for all comments...they do encourage me.

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When Grissom and Sara stepped into the den they were confronted by a blur of action as the team was scattered throughout the room and involved in various tasks. Greg held a barstool for Nick as the latter balanced on it while pulling the light fixture down, Catherine and Brass were pulling books off the shelves and inspecting them in minute detail, Warrick was pulling parts of their stereo apart.

"Find anything?" Grissom queried, his eyebrows arched.

"Not yet," Warrick supplied while inspecting the front plate of the stereo which he had removed.

"I hope you can put that back together, War." said Nick from his perch on the barstool where he was holding the light fixture but looking over at Warrick.

Grunting a response, Warrick placed the face plate on the floor and began inspecting the interior of the stereo system.

Folding her arms at the elbows, Sara surveyed the room and shuddered at the implications that their actions were conveying. "So, it's possible that this person has put bugs all over the townhome?"

"More than that, Sara, cameras." Brass gave her a half shrug as the doorbell rang. "That would be somebody with the equipment that I requested."

"Cameras." Sara repeated the word with distaste as she glanced over at Grissom. He was looking back at her with a small frown plastered on his face. She had not entertained the idea of cameras but knew that it was plausible. In fact, it was a known fact that these days anyone could buy tiny cameras on the internet with ease. "Habits. He knew the habits of his victims and was able to put the figure in position inside each miniature."

"Except for Penny Garden. She altered the plan and he had to readjust the miniature." Grissom mulled over the past cases as he settled down on one end of his sofa while pondering the fact that it wasn't over as he had supposed. It should have ended with Ernie Dell. He shouldn't have to face the fact that a murderer was still out there and was taunting him with this latest twisted miniature.

Sara stood there for a minute, just watching everyone, before deciding that she needed to do something productive. "I'm going to check out the study and see if there is a newspaper on the desk."

"I checked the room, Sara, and there was no newspaper."

Glancing back over her shoulder as Greg spoke, Sara mumbled something about needing to look around the study. Grissom was about to pull himself back off the sofa to follow her when Greg let go of the barstool, did a little sprint around it, and left Nick grumbling in irritation as his balance was suddenly at risk.

Greg caught up to Sara just as she was entering the study and she cast him a slightly amused look. "It's not necessary to shadow me, Greg. The rooms have been cleared by Brass." She softened her words with an affectionate smile.

"I know. I know, but I feel better if you stay in sight of one of us."

Sara pointed up at a small vent. "I don't think any of the vics had their livers missing, Greg."

Shooting her a puzzled look, Greg decided to pretend he knew what she was talking about by giving a slight nod to which she grinned for the first time since this ordeal began.

"I would have figured you for an X-files fan," Sara commented, her eyes roaming the room until her gaze landed on the desk.

Realization lit Greg's eyes as he muttered something about not figuring her for one. He would have questioned her further but it was obvious that something else had captured her attention.

"There is no newspaper." Sara stared at the desk in confusion. "There has to be some significance to the newspaper being in the model."

"It would be difficult for him to print out an actual newspaper." Greg offered as he moved to stand beside Sara who was now moving items around on the desk in an attempt to find some clue.

"What's this?" Sara stared at something in horror.

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Grissom settled back on the sofa and tried to convince himself that he was right not to run after Sara. Instinctively he needed to keep her within his sights and was a little irritated that Greg had beat him to the punch.

"Here's something," Brass held up a small item that his equipment had detected. Warrick and Nick gathered around him as he inspected the tiny camera. "Proof."

Not bothering to join the inspection of the camera, Grissom closed his eyes and searched his memory for anything that would lead him to finding this threat to Sara. He kept picturing the figure on the bed and then flashing back to Sara sitting on the bed before he went crazy and stripped the blankets off in a rage. There was no blood. No obvious injury like there was with Izzy Delancy. No blood.

"Grissom? Are you okay?"

"No blood," Grissom mumbled, opening his eyes and staring into the concerned eyes of Catherine.

"Where? What are you talking about Gil?"

"In the model there was no blood." Grissom stood abruptly and walked towards the kitchen. "It could be that he hasn't decided on a weapon." Physically wincing at that thought Grissom pushed the pain away and focused on the puzzle.

Catherine was right behind him as he entered the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. "Please tell me you aren't about to eat."

Staring at the contents of the refrigerator, which was sparse considering neither he nor Sara had been living there in weeks, Grissom shook his head when he finally responded to her statement.

"Poison. What if he planned on Sara eating or drinking something that would have led to the scene in the model? It could be that she thwarted his plans by moving out after I left."

Grissom was getting worked up as he turned in a half circle and studied anything that could pose a threat. Poison could have been placed on anything from utensils to the inside of the blender.

"We'll check out everything, Gil, it's going to be okay." Catherine didn't wait for his response as she moved to gather her kit so she could begin collecting samples.

"The bathroom needs to be checked as well. Shampoos. Razors. Anything that could carry a poison." Grissom pressed the palm of his hand against his forehead for several seconds before taking a deep breath and focusing on the task at hand.

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"What is it Sara?"

Sara let the photograph drift back to the desk before pulling out the chair and sitting in it with a dazed expression. It wasn't possible. Greg stood beside her and reached out to pick up the picture that had apparently caused a good deal of distress. His own hand shook as he stared at the image and looked back at her with disbelief.

"This doesn't look like any of the other crime scene miniatures."

"It's not." Sara reached for the photograph. "I need Grissom."

TBC

My apologies for the short chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

And So it Goes...

By: Manigault

Ahh, thank you so much for reading this and going along for the ride! I hope that it enjoyable.

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Greg stared at Sara with concerned horror etched on his face. He had never seen her this shell shocked or withdrawn and the sight of Sara sitting there with that look on her face scared the shit out of him. He had no idea what the picture represented to her, but knew that Grissom may have some clue about it as he fumbled with a "I'll get him," while making a hasty retreat from the room.

"Grissom!"

Dropping the jar of strawberry preserves that he was bagging, Grissom felt his adrenaline flare as Greg sped into the room shouting his name. The commotion drew everyones attention as they stopped what they were doing to stare at the frantic young man.

Not waiting for Greg to catch his breath, Grissom was already making a beeline for the study as his thoughts spun frantically. Reaching the room he didn't pause in the doorway as his gaze landed on the bent over form in the chair. He noticed her back was shaking slightly as he moved towards her and slowed his steps as he reached her side. She was bent forward in the chair, her brown hair covering her face from his view as she rocked slightly back and forth in the chair.

Crouching in front of her chair, Grissom reached forward and grasped her hands in one of his, while the other one reached up and brushed her hair back behind her ears.

"Honey, what is it? What happened?" asked Grissom, waiting desperately for her to lift her eyes and look back at him.

Without warning Sara stopped rocking and flung herself forward to cling to him, almost knocking him from his position. He held his ground and wrapped both arms around her shaking body as she dug her forehead into his shoulder. He felt her hot tears sink into his shirt as he held her for several silent minutes until she spoke.

"It's my nightmare, Grissom."

Rubbing his hands along her back he pondered her words as he tried to work out which nightmare she was referring to and if it had something to do with discovering that some seriel killer had hidden cameras in their home. Cameras. Grissom looked over Sara's shoulder and let his eyes roam over the room. The man could be watching them now and reveling in the fact that he had driven Sara to this point. He wanted to comfort her, but some place that was safe from prying eyes.

"Let's get out of here, Sara," whispered Grissom, knowing that the deeper meaning of his words had sunk in as Sara pulled back slightly and reached up to swipe at the tears from her face.

"He's watching us." Sara whispered back, her voice hitching slightly with the raw emotion that was heavy on her heart. She kept her eyes averted from the desk, from that picture. Pushing back her fears, she glanced over at the desk and forced herself to pick it up again as she pressed it against her chest and turned to face Grissom. "I'm ready."

Grissom didn't ask to see the picture, the apparent cataylst of her state of mind, but decided to wait until they were alone and some place safe. The irony wasn't lost on him as they made their way from the study and along the hallway to the den where his team was discovering the hidden cameras that reminded him of something from a bad movie. It wasn't long ago that he had thought of this place as his safe haven, his and Sara's oasis of privacy away from prying eyes. It knew that it would be swept clean before the day was over, but was well aware that the stigma of what it represented would never leave. Maybe remodeling the bedroom would not be enough.

Sara pressed that photograph to her chest with one hand and kept her other clasped tightly within Grissom's grasp as they entered the den. Nick sauntered over to them, his eyes fastened on Sara with brotherly concern.

"You okay, Sara?"

"I will be, Nick, thank you." Sara wondered if her eyes were red and puffy and decided that after all that had gone on today it was the least of her problems.

"Did you find more cameras?" asked Grissom, tightening his hold on Sara's hand as they waited for a response.

"Four, so far," replied Brass emerging from the direction of their bedroom, Catherine beside him. "Two in here, one in the bathroom and one in the bedroom."

"Sick bastard."

Grissom silently seconded Nick's comment as he informed them that he was taking Sara somewhere safe. He just didn't know where safe was anymore.

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Sara had suggested that Brass check their cars for any type of spy devices and he had complied, thankfully finding nothing in the interior of Grissom's Mercedes. Feeling slightly more secure once they had pulled away from the townhouse, Grissom risked bringing up the subject of the photograph that Sara still held pressed against her chest.

Shaking her head at his question, Sara told him to take her to the hotel where she had been staying for the past few weeks and she would show him once there. Leaning her head against the cool pane of glass she struggled to make sense of the photo and the connection between it and the person that was pulling all these strings.

Who would have access to this picture? Who would have access to her past?

Picking up on her need for silence, Grissom drove to the hotel while his mind kept processing the information that they did have and the fact that it wasn't near enough.

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"That totals seven cameras." Warrick placed the last one, from the study, in the bag as he looked around the room. The last one had been located in the light fixture, two of the cameras in the den had been in plain view on the ceiling and if you had looked hard enough they would have been easily seen without the assitance of the equipment Brass had procurred.

"I need to check on Sara," worried Greg as he placed the last container from the bathroom with the rest of their kits.

"She's with Grissom," said Warrick, giving him a pointed look.

"Give them some time to regain some sense of security." Catherine suggested this and at the same time she couldn't help but wonder if they would ever find any level of security. Sara had been feeling vulnerable since Grissom left and coupled with the revealing of the miniature and the cameras in their home she thought it would take a miracle for them to find some peace of mind. She wished them luck and hoped that Grissom could make amends for his taking off in the first place.

"I know she's with Grissom, it's just that I want to help keep her safe."

"You can help her by getting this stuff processed in the lab as quickly as possible and finding this seriel killer." Catherine picked up a kit as she spoke and nodded at the evidence they had gathered.

Nodding his consent, Greg helped Nick and Warrick carry the evidence bags to the car.

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Sitting on the edge of the bed, Sara clutched the photograph in both hands, her eyes focused on Grissom who had pulled up a chair directly in front of where she sat.

"You know my nightmare."

Grissom nodded, wondering again which nightmare she was referring, but relatively sure it was the one that had been the turning point of her childhood.

"May I see the photograph, Sara?" He didn't want to see it and from the look in her eyes she didn't want him to see it either, but she slowly let her grip on it ease as she nodded but kept her eyes fastened on his. Gently he reached over and took the picture from her hands, bringing it over to him as he finally tore his eyes from hers and looked down at the picture that symbolized her biggest nightmare. His gasp was audible and it released a floodgate as tears poured down Sara's cheeks once again.

She felt a measure of shame that he was viewing this sordid piece of history, but also relief that he could see with his own eyes what she had survived. And she had survived, just as she would survive this newest test of her sanity.

Grissom stared at the photograph of the small child, covered in blood, her brown eyes wide with terrror and something else...sadness. He gathered that the picture had been taken in the immediate hours following the murder of her dad by her own mother's hands. She was soaked in his blood and he was certain that the photograph could not capture the true terror that the little girl had known. How the seriel killer had gotten his hands on this picture was a mystery, but one that would have to wait.

"I don't want to talk about it, Griss. I want you to hold me. Just hold me."

With a slight nod, Grissom moved over to the bed and pulled Sara into his arms as she settled her head on his chest and let the tears slide down her face to soak into his shirt above his wildly beating heart. Holding her tightly, he knew that he would do everything possible to keep her safe, even at the expense of his own life if need be.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

And So it Goes...

By: Manigault

Spoilers: There is one although I've changed the circumstances due to a conflict in what I've written so far and the spoilers. So the identity of a future vic is a spoiler although the circumstances are different.

Thank you for the comments----they keep me honest and motivate me to keep writing. Thanks to everyone reading this story!

If you liked the Grissom/Sara scene in this chapter then you can thank "Metamorphosis Two" by Philip Glass a song I must have listened to over a dozen times while writing this chapter. If you didn't like it, then you can blame me because that song is perfect. Heh.

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"You must be kidding," Hodges complained as Warrick, Nick and Greg brought in bag after bag of evidence.

"This is priority, Hodges," said Nick, placing the last bag on the counter as he tried to relay the urgency of the situation.

Picking up a bag containing a bottle of shampoo, Hodges smirked. "I see that. Shampoo. Very urgent."

Realization lit Hodges eyes as he looked again from the shampoo to Nick. "This has something to do with the hoopla surrounding that miniature in Grissom's office, doesn't it? Word is there is a figure on the bed that resembles Sara and that the room belongs to Grissom."

Greg was tired of this delay in the running of the evidence, "I'll start running the tests." Besides, he would rather do the tests himself and in the process feel like he was helping Sara and Grissom in some small way.

"This is my lab!" Hodges protest was lost on Greg who was busy pulling on latex gloves and rearranging the items.

"Then I suggest you start helping Greg process the evidence, Hodges." Nick tossed the suggestion over his shoulder as he and Warrick left the room to locate Brass and Catherine who had gone in search of Archie.

Grumbling beneath his breath, Hodges shot Greg a dirty look before picking up a bag full of glass and strawberry preserves. "Messy. What am I supposed to test this stuff for?"

"You're the genius, Hodges, at least that's what you tell us." Greg didn't bother to look at Hodges to know he was receiving the lab techs peeved look and at that second didn't care. It was going to be a long night if they were going to solve this mystery before the killer went after Sara.

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Grissom shifted his weight, pulling Sara closer as he did so while simultaneously glancing at the alarm clock on the night stand. Three hours. That's how much sleep they had gotten since folding in on each other on the bed. Moving his gaze from the clock to Sara's face he was relieved that she still had her eyes closed and appeared to be in a deep sleep. It gave him time to try to fit a few pieces of the puzzle together before she woke up and decided to pull away from him.

"I'm not sleeping," mumbled Sara, not opening her eyes but shifting her weight more on top of him than away, as he'd feared.

"Did I wake you?" Grissom kept his voice barely above a whisper as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"How long did we sleep?" Sara opened her eyes part way and stared at his scruffy face, rubbing her finger along his jaw. She loved the feel of his jaw line and then the dip in his cleft chin as she ran her finger over the rough surface. The facial stubble reminded her of when they had first gotten together and she realized she missed this part of Grissom almost as much as she loved the feel of his smooth skin beneath her lips. Given a choice she would take the clean shaven Grissom simply because the beard burn was sometimes difficult to hide around their collegues, but with that thought a chuckle almost escaped her lips. Almost. She realized that she no longer had to hide beard burns and the thought was intoxicating.

Almost undone by her tender administrations, Grissom choked out 'A few hours' before giving into his base desires and reaching his hand behind her head and pulling her lips to his in a passionate kiss that was eagerly reciprocated. Weeks of pent up frustration on both of their parts spilled out of one another and meshed into one in a perfect blend of physical release.

Sara knew that eventually they would have to talk everything out, but for now nothing mattered except the feel of Grissom's skin on hers and the touch of his hands as they moved along her body with such familiar ease, eliciting pleasures she hadn't realized had been pushed dormant since he'd left weeks ago.

Finally spent, physically, Sara lay half on top of Grissom's chest and stared down into his eyes as a smile played along her lips. "I've missed this."

Sara's hair spilled over her face and he reached up to push the errant strands back from her face. "I've missed you, Sara, and everything about you from your smile to that worried look you get when you're concentrating so hard you tend to over talk."

"Oh, I over talk do I?" Biting back the smile she nodded, "Only around you, Grissom, you know that."

Turning serious, Grissom placed his hands on each side of her face and said with complete sincerity. "I'm sorry that I didn't discuss leaving with you and I'm sorry that I left you in the first place. The whole time I was gone I missed you and realized that I can't breathe if I don't have you in my life. I don't want to be without you, Sara."

She listened to the urgency in his voice, the lack of hesitation, and couldn't help but lean forward and place a soft kiss on his lips. He was opening himself to her and it was only fair that she return his honesty with some truth of her own.

"You scared me when you left," Sara mumbled, her eyes dropping from his to follow the path her finger was now making along his chest. "I felt like you were tired of us and needed to get away from not just Vegas, the lab, all the shit you've been through, but away from me. Nick kept talking about how you were probably not coming back and even though I knew that you would come back, I began doubting that you would come back to me."

"I sent you those plants, the notes, the necklace?" Grissom tried to keep the exasperation from his voice and stressed the next sentence. "The plane ticket."

He felt her finger still on his chest and was afraid that he'd made a stupid mistake by allowing his irritation to enter his voice when she said out of the blue. "I've always relied on myself, Griss. Nobody has stayed with me for any length of time and I suppose that I've come to expect that I will always end up by myself in the end. When I was in the system we used to tell each other that you can only depend on yourself and if you failed yourself then what did you have left? If I put all of my emotions in one person, other than myself, then I had no control of the situation when that person decided to walk away."

Sara felt her own frustration building up again as she tried to put words to the emotions that had been plaguing her for weeks. She didn't want pity and she didn't want the sympathy that she now saw shining in Grissom's eyes. Trying to pull away, she felt his arms move to her shoulders and hold her securely in place.

As if reading her mind, Grissom spoke with admiration as he said gently, "I don't feel sorry for you, Sara, I admire you more than any woman that I've ever known. You are strong and courageous. You beat the odds when the deck was stacked against you from the start. You are the most giving and beautiful human being that I've had in my life with the possible exception of my own mom and grandmom, and I feel so lucky to have you want to be part of my life. I love you, Sara Sidle, and I vow that I'll never leave you again, not willingly."

"That almost sounds like a life time commitment, Doctor Grissom." Sara tried to keep her voice light, but her voice got tangled up with stupid emotions.

"It is."

Those two words shivered through the barriers she had built up and she not only wanted to believe him, but to her consternation she did believe him. Leaning forward she whispered in his ear. "I return that vow, Gil Grissom, and promise that you are stuck with me."

With a smile, Grissom flipped her over on her back and began showing her the pleasures those words gave him.

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"Where is Gil, Catherine?"

Catherine stared at Brass with surprise. Seconds ago they were speaking with Archie about the tapes and how he'd been unable to find the identity of the person who'd delivered the package and then Jim had gotten a phone call. Now he was wanting to know where Grissom was and from the serious tone in his voice he needed to know right then.

"Some place safe, I hope. Why the urgency, Jim?"

With a heavy sigh, Brass lifted the cell phone and nodded at it. "That was Sophia. There was a homicide in a condo outside Vegas and another miniature model was discovered with the body."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Positive. The vic's name is Barbara Tallman. A psychotherapist. The miniature was found at the scene and is a replica of the room along with a figure that matches the victim."

"We should check this out before calling Gil." Catherine spotted Warrick and Nick walking towards them and waved them over to inform them of the latest developments.

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Grissom sat on the edge of the bed and glanced towards the bathroom where he could hear the shower runnning. Satisfied that Sara would be occupied for the next ten minutes he reached over to the nightstand and picked up the photograph that screamed volumes in terms of what Sara had endured at such a young age. She had broken down several times over the course of their relationship and told him bits and pieces of her childhood, but seeing the stark evidence on the face of the child she was-that was almost too much to bear.

The photograph needed to be analyzed. They needed to find out where it had come from, who had sent it, why he was targeting Sara. The problem with taking this photograph to the lab would be that in doing so they would be exposing Sara's past and that was something she had avoided for the seven years she had lived in Vegas. She was stubborn and proud. The Sara that he had come to love was not someone who would want the compassionate stares of her co-workers.

Ringing from his cell phone interrupted his musings as he spent the next minute searching for the source in the pile of clothes that lay on the floor beside the bed. Finding it at last he stared at the name of the incoming call and grimaced. Sophia. Why would she be calling him? Frowning he tossed the phone back on the pile of clothes and looked up at a soft gasp from the doorway. Sara's eyes were fastened on the photograph that he still held in his hands.

"I know it sounds stupid, but I almost hoped that photo was a bad dream and it didn't exist."

Nodding at the sentiment, Grissom glanced back at the picture before returning it to the night stand and standing up to move slowly towards a towel clad Sara. He wanted nothing more than to remove the towel from around her body and make that frown vanish from her face, but they had to face the reality of the predicament they now found themselves.

"Unfortunately it does, and now we need to decide _why it exists._" Grissom watched the play of emotions that flashed over Sara's face as she processed these words and then quickly shook her head.

"I don't want anyone in the lab seeing that picture. I know that Greg saw it and I'll speak to him, but that's it. Nobody sees that picture, Grissom."

"Honey, it's imperative that we have the photograph analyzed. It was left on the desk for the express purpose of someone wanting us to know that he is aware of your past and possibly played a role, so we need to submit it as evidence. I'll do my best to ensure that as few people as necessary know about it."

"A role? What kind of role do you think this person could have played?" Sara felt numbness creep over her at the word _role _and wondered what possible connection anyone could have with that nightmarish event. Her dad was dead. Stabbed so many times she was covered in his blood as she tried to plug the wounds. Laura Sidle spent years in a mental institution before being released a few years ago to retire in a group home in San Francisco. She had never been the same and couldn't recall that event that had led her to the state she was currently living.

"That's what we need to find out." Grissom heard his cell ringing again and wished that he'd turned it off before he'd tossed it on the floor.

Trying to shake the imges that were assaulting her mind, Sara moved around Grissom and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

Silence on the other line greeted her as she repeated the salutation.

"Sara?"

Hearing Sophia's voice, Sara rolled her eyes and responded in the affirmative. "What's going on, Sophia?"

"I was trying to reach Grissom."

"You've reached him. Hold on." Sara made a face at Grissom before handing him the phone and moving away to gather their scattered clothes.

"This is Grissom." Wondering what Sophia could be calling him about, he half listened as she began talking about a crime scene, his attention riveted on the movements of the brunette in front of him. One word caught his attention and he had to ask her to repeat what she'd said.

"Another miniature crime scene, Grissom. Didn't you hear me the first time?"

"There was a replica of the scene _and the victim _left in the condo?" Grissom caught Sara's eyes as she straightened up and dropped Grissom's shirt on the bed. Listening for several more minutes, Grissom thanked her for calling and hit the end button.

"We need to go to the crime scene." Sara was pulling her bra and panties on as she spoke, failing to see the closed expression on Grissom's face until she was pulling on a long sleeved t-shirt. "I'm going with you, Grissom."

"I'm not going to the scene. I'm going back to the lab where the miniature should be by this time, and if it's not, then we'll start working on the photograph." Grissom moved towards the bathroom with the intention of taking a shower.

Sara walked over to the bathroom doorway and silently watched him step inside the shower, her thoughts spinning with the new information. Another victim. Another miniature crime scene found. She wondered where she tied in with this latest news.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

And So it Goes...

By: Manigault

So I'm really stretching these scenes to fit the show and maintain the story...lol. There was no police decoy in this story and the victim was the vic and..yeah, well everything else.

This is a short chapter but I wanted to get it out there this week. Hopefully, the next will be longer.

Thanks for reading this and double thanks for all comments!

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Sara watched as Grissom dressed, biding her time in asking the question that was weighing heavy on her mind. Catching her eye as he tucked his shirt into his pants, Grissom tilted his head slightly and gave her a small nod.

"I'll do my best to keep this as confidential as possible."

"Our relationship is outed." Sara said dryly. "How are we going to keep anything confidential?"

"Is that what's bothering you? I'm okay with everyone knowing that we're involved."

Sara chose her next words carefully as she kept her eyes fixed on his face. "It's important, but it's not all that's bothering me right now." Glancing at the carpet before letting her eyes slid back up to meet his eyes, Sara asked him the question that was on her mind. "Why aren't we going to the crime scene? It's because of me?"

"The crime scene is in good hands. I'm certain that Jim is handling it by this time and most likely has Catherine and at least one of the guys there as well. I'll call and make sure someone brings the miniature to the lab if it's not there already." Grissom followed his statement by pulling out his phone and hitting a number that linked him with Brass.

Brass answered on the first ring. "Gil? Sophia told me she called you."

"The miniature?"

"Nick is on his way back to the lab with it as we speak. It's the same as the others, Gil, only one that's different is the one that was left in your office. Maybe that one was a warning?" Brass couldn't help but keep the hope from his voice. If it was only a warning then perhaps the miniature killer would leave Sara alone.

"Or a game." Grissom asked him a few more questions regarding the victim before ending the call and filling the blanks in for Sara.

"So, you think that maybe I'm not an actual target? It was simply a move to show you that he's in control?"

"It's possible." Grissom hoped that Sara wasn't a target but the fact that this person would go to such lengths to prove something to him was unfathomable. Where did the picture of a young terrified Sara come into play? "It's also possible that you are the one he's trying to demonstrate his control of and I'm simply an instrument in his mad game."

"Who would do this?" Sara had been pondering the question since picking up the image of herself and was no closer to an answer as they left the hotel room and made their way to the lab.

Grissom couldn't give her any answers but hoped the evidence could as he reached for her hand on the way inside the lab.

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"Nothing." Greg read the latest test results with disgust. "What about you, Hodges?"

"Nada. Zip. It's all clean and a waste of time if you ask me."

Greg glared over the counter at Hodges who was smiling into a microscope. "Why is it a waste of time? This is Sara we're talking about, Hodges. You like Sara."

"Everyone likes Sara," said Hodges without lifting his eyes from the microscope. "It's just that this serial killer is too smart to leave evidence behind in shampoo or strawberry preserves."

"It's poison. Why wouldn't he put it in something that Sara would use on a daily basis?" Greg was geniunely curious about his response since the other man appeared sure of himself. But then Hodges was always sure of himself.

Pulling away from the microscope, Hodges finally looked at Greg, rolling his eyes dramatically before answering. "Does she eat strawberry preserves everyday? He would put it on something she would use, only something that would leave no trace."

If Hodges had added a 'duh' on the end of his statement then Greg would not have been surprised. "Like?"

"A toothbrush or hair dryer." Hodges started a long explanation of the type of poisons that you could place on appliances and how the skin would absorb them and how it would be virtually undetectable in the victim. "Unless you know what you're looking for that is."

Greg had to keep his mouth from dropping open. He knew Hodges was weird but this was scary weird. "We can get her hair dryer and check out other appliances. I thought that we had everything."

"Better use gloves!" Hodges suggested as he returned to his microscope.

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"This is it." Nick placed the miniature down on the table and stepped back to let Grissom and Sara investigate the tiny crime scene. "The vic was found exactly like the figure in the model."

"Is that a cat?. He killed her cat as well?" Sara felt indignation as she stared at the tiny figure of the feline. It was strange how she could view these victims with professional detachment but when it came to a small helpless creature she felt this rage.

Grissom cast her a sympathetic look before picking up his magnifying glass to exam the inside of the miniature. Aware of Sara's emotions he reached over and gently tugged her towards him, gesturing with the magnifying glass before he spoke.

"Was it a poison that killed them?" Grissom mused.

"Try carbon monoxide."

Everyone turned to watch the approach of Catherine as she described the fireplace and the elaborate set up along with the timer that was set to go off on the 17th of November. "It appears to coincide with your return, Gil."

"He couldn't have known about Grissom's sabbatical," Nick shook his head as he spoke, "we didn't know until almost time for him to leave. This model took weeks to perfect."

"Grissom? _Who_ did know about your plans other than the college?" Catherine made a point of avoiding Sara's gaze as she asked him this question.

"Ecklie knew a couple of weeks before I left." Grissom turned his attention back to the model. "Although, I don't believe Conrad would have the ability to make these miniatures. He certainly wouldn't have the patience."

"If he left it on his desk then any number of people could have seen the request," suggested Nick, his words eliciting a sharp intake of breath from Sara.

She felt everyones eyes pinning her down as she stepped closer to Grissom and spoke the dreaded thought aloud. "You're suggesting that someone in this lab could be the person doing all of this?"

"Or someone who has access to the lab," offered Nick, not liking his theory at all. "You should stay near one of us at all times Sara, even here."

Grissom straightened up and stared from Nick to Sara before reaching for his phone. "Jim? I'd like for you to have someone stand guard near Sara while she's at the lab. I know that she's in the lab. Okay, thanks."

Turning to Sara he lowered his voice. "You have to promise me that you'll stay near me or one of the guys at all times."

"No problem." Sara wasn't stupid, she felt the shiver of fear run down her spine at the thought that this person could have access to the lab. Another thought occurred to her and she demanded the same promise from him. "You may be the actual target, Griss. I could have been some minor decoy." Her thoughts turned to the photograph and she knew it was time to find someone she trusted to run some analysis on it.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

And So it Goes...

By: Manigault

Thanks for everyone reading this story and the reviews are wonderful! I've been on the outs with a mega sinusitis problem so my apologies for being slow on getting this chapter out there. I wish that I could blame a stuffy head for any dullness of the chapter. LOL

My apologies for the shortness.

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Sara found Hodges in the trace lab.

"Hodges? Where's Greg?" asked Sara.

"What? No greeting? No..."

"David." Grissom, who had followed close beside Sara, now asked with a bluntness that earned him a feigned hurt look from the lab tech. "Where is Greg?"

"I believe that he went back to your place to collect more stuff. We found nothing on or in the things that you brought me earlier." Hodges looked from Grissom to Sara and then back to Grissom. "I could help you figure out how to stop this person from harming Sara."

Narrowing his eyes on the lab tech, Grissom frowned. "I hope that's what everyone here is trying to do, Hodges."

Looking back at Sara, Hodges nodded thoughtfully. "Why did you need Greg? I could help you with whatever it is."

Sara felt the photograph pressing against her breast, but did not consider for a second showing it to Hodges, the lab gossip. She shook her head slightly. "I'll wait for Greg." Turning away from the doorway she pivoted back with a sudden thought. "Hodges? You are helping, thank you."

Temporarily flustered by her sincerity, Hodges mumbled something about it being no problem.

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"Greg went back to the townhome?" Sara was two steps ahead of Grissom as they entered his office. "I wonder what else he could be collecting? It looked like you left nothing untouched."

"I'm sure he'll check in with us as soon as he's able." Grissom walked over to the collection of miniatures that were displayed throughout the room. The person who made these dioramas was brillant, if not insane. It occurred to him that often brillance and insanity went hand in hand, but that was not a subject he wanted to dwell on-not when Sara was being threatened.

Sara watched him study the diorama from the first case and then said without rancor. "You admire him."

"Greg?" The arch of his eyebrows met her gaze as he looked over his shoulder.

"The diorama killer." Sara corrected, knowing that her words would not make him happy.

"Nooo," Grissom drawled out the word as he searched for an explanation that would make sense. "I wouldn't say that I admire him, but I do respect the fact that he's evaded us thus far and has been extremely careful with the manner in which he's killed. The dioramas are fascinating, but not so that I couldn't have lived without ever experiencing this particular challenge."

"It's so precise, such a perfectionist." Sara grasped his hand, lacing her fingers with his as she stood beside him and stared into the Izzy diorama. "There must be a connection with each of the victims."

"If there's a connection with the latest victim then, hopefully, Judge Rainer allows us to open her patient files and we'll find out what that connection is." Catherine spoke from the doorway, her eyes flickering over the interlaced hands before she stifled the smile threatening to turn up the corner of her lips.

Pulling apart, Grissom swiveled around to face Catherine while asking when Judge Rainer would let them know her decision.

"Soon. Jim is in her office as we speak trying to convince her of the urgency."

"A CSI is being threatened," Grissom said with a sharpness that earned him a concerned look from both women. "Isn't that enough of a reason?"

"There's a bit of red tape involved, Gil, you've got to be patient." Catherine held up one hand to ward off Grissom's protest. "You have more pressing issues, both of you do. Ecklie asked me to have you come to his office since he's had trouble getting through to you on your phone."

Grissom smiled wryly. He knew that Ecklie had been attempting to reach him and was only surprised that the man hadn't stormed his way along the hallways in search of him or Sara.

Beside him, Sara grimaced and motioned towards the doorway. "Let's get it over with, Gris."

Grissom, placing a hand on the small of her back, followed her out of the room after exchanging meaningful looks with Catherine.

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Ecklie wasn't alone in his office. Sheriff Burdick was present, along with several people that neither Grissom nor Sara recognized. Not bothering to exchange pleasantries, Sara entered the office first and scanned the room, meeting each persons eyes with a bravado she wasn't feeling. She and Grissom had counted themselves lucky for the past two years, aware that someday they would stand in this office facing those who had no understanding of their relationship or the fact that they could separate work from their personal lives.

Refusing the chair that Ecklie indicated, Sara chose to stand her ground and wait for the repercussions of the fallout from the outing of their relationship. Grissom was more vocal as he stood beside her and faced Sheriff Burdick.

"Let's get this over with, shall we?" Grissom felt Sara tense beside him. He realized that this wasn't the plan of attack they had agreed on months ago when discussing the possibilities of discovery, but he was anxious to continue with the diorama investigation.

Ecklie had that familiar smirk as he gave Grissom a hard stare and spoke with a sarcasm not lost on any occupant of the room. "So, Gil, how long have you and your subordinate been having an affair?"

"Conrad."

Everyone, including Ecklie turned with surprise towards Sheriff Burdick, who was shaking his head at the day shift supervisor.

"We didn't call this meeting to rake Gil over the coals for his personal affairs." Burdick met Grissom's eyes and gave him a slight smile. "I'm sure that peeled away everyone in this room has secrets that are best kept private."

His statement sent a ripple of disbelief through both Grissom and Sara who stared back at the Sheriff with suspicion. It wasn't possible that the Sheriff would call this meeting just to let them off the hook for breaking a few office rules.

"Why did you call this meeting, if it wasn't to call us out on our private lives?" asked Grissom.

"I'm glad that you asked." Burdick nodded towards the two unfamiliar participants in the room. "I'd like to introduce Agent Bryan Parker and Agent Irene Sims. They are here to assist your team in the invesigation of this diorama debacle."

A horrified look stole over Grissom's features as he stared at the Sheriff with sudden comprehension of the situation. "You brought the FBI into this? This is my case and now you're giving it to outsiders?"

"It moved from a local case to one of higher importance when it hit the public eye, Gil. You know how this works. I'm not removing you and your team from the case, but I'm requesting that you work very closely with these two agents to catch this killer."

Sara, who couldn't trust the direction of this whole conversation, had to clarify the situation. "Are you telling us that our relationship will not be brought up again, Sheriff Burdick? There will be no consequences?"

"That's what I'd be interested in hearing." Ecklie said with a scathing look at Grissom.

Sheriff Burdick kept his eyes on Grissom as he offered an explanation. "Until this miniature was delivered to the office I'm to believe that nobody, not even your team, suspected anything was going on between the two of you. Now that it's in the open there are the obvious adjustments that will have to made. CSI Sidle will now report to Catherine Willows but she'll remain on your team. Catherine will do all of her evaluations. That's it."

"That's it?" Ecklie echoed Grissom and Sara's disbelief.

"Well, that and Gil has to work with the FBI on this case. _That's it_."

Grissom didn't speak as he kept his eyes fastened on Burdick. He knew there was a catch and probably should have welcomed that it was such a light one considering the possibilities that he and Sara had discussed back in the beginning phase of their relationship. He turned towards the two agents who, to their credit, appeared uncomfortable with the entire exchange.

"If I refuse to work with the FBI?" Grissom couldn't resist asking the question and knew the answer before Burdick replied.

"Then we discuss your personal affairs and how they relate to your position."

Grissom turned to look at Sara and she gave him a faint nod.

It was Sara who requested that the agreement be in writing and signed before they left the room. Whatever else happened, they would keep working together.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

And So it Goes

By: Manigault

Note: Thanks to everyone reading this story. Thanks very much for all comments. It helps to know if the story is flowing.

Side note: Thanks Peggy for the heads up on that line. It should be fixed now.

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Agents Parker and Sims followed them into the hallway, speaking only when the door was shut, effectively cutting them off from the prying eyes of Ecklie and Sheriff Burdick.

"Listen, this has started off on the wrong foot, but..." Irene was interrupted by the shrill ringing of someone's cell phone.

"It's for me," Sara held up her phone before pressing the button to ask Greg what he needed. Grissom watched her facial expressions change from passive to alarmed as whatever Greg infomed her of struck some nerve. "Thanks, Greg. We're on our way over there now."

Grissom gave her a second to offer an explanation before realizing that she was lost in contemplation. "Sara? What did Greg say?"

Feeling the firm, yet gentle squeeze of Grissom's hand on her forearm, Sara shook her head to clear her thoughts before filling him in.

"There was a package left in the townhome with my name on it. Greg's spoken with Brass and he already has a bomb squad on the way over to check it out and make certain that it's harmless." Sara choked on the last word. Harmless. Something told her that the package may not have a ticking device within it, but it was a bomb nevertheless.

Ignoring the two agents, Grissom kept his hand on Sara's elbow as they hurried from the building.

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Greg met them in the parking lot as they pulled up, his eyebrows arching as his gaze swept over the two unfamiliar individuals that stepped from the backseat of the Tahoe. If he hadn't been so concerned about Sara's safety he would have given the female the once over, but as it was, his attention was focused on Sara.

"Brass made me stay out here until they cleared the package as non-explosive." Leaning forward, Greg whispered conspiratorialy, "He's pissed that someone was able to get past the policeman he'd assigned to watch the place. That guys in serious shit."

Brass was standing in the doorway of the townhome as they approached, a grim look on his face as he held up a hand to stop them from entering. "We're relatively certain that it's not explosive, but it'll take a few more minutes to give an all clear." Brass rubbed his jaw and gave Grissom and Sara an apologetic look. "I'm sorry that someone was able to get in here to leave a package. I don't understand it."

"Is it possible that the package was overlooked when you were here earlier?" Irene made the suggestion and within seconds was on the receiving end of some ferocious looks.

"We didn't_ miss _anything," Greg retorted, adding with a questioning glare. "Who are you guys anyway?"

"Greg," Sara placed one hand on her hip and spun half way around to face the two agents. "Sheriff Burdick has asked Agents Parker and Sims to assist us in this investigation."

"We could use all the help we can get," Brass said with a huff as he eyed the two agents with wariness that belied his statement.

"Irene Sims." Irene shook Brass's hand and then turned to Greg who ignored the greeting. With a shrug, Irene tilted her head towards her partner. "Everyone calls him Parker."

Parker didn't offer his hand to Greg, but he did shake the hand Brass offered. Sara realized on some level that the agent had not spoken since the meeting when he was first introduced to them. Waiting to enter the townhome and needing a distraction from what could possibly wait for her inside of that package, she studied the agents. They both appeared to be in their early thirties. Night and day was the thought that sprang easily to mind. Irene had silky black hair that drifted about shoulder level, while Parker's blond hair was clipped short above his ears. Irene had dark eyes that twinkled with geniune warmth as she smiled at Captain Brass, before peppering him with a series of questions regarding the package.

Turning towards Parker, Sara caught his eyes and flinched inwardly at the calculating expression that he didn't try hiding from her inspection. Without concious thought of doing so, Sara shivered and took a small step towards Grissom who instinctively wrapped his arm around her waist. He followed her gaze and met Parker's look with a questioning one of his own.

"Agent Parker? Is there something bothering you?"

Parker felt the eyes of his partner, Greg, and Brass focus on him as he faced Grissom and Sara with a steady smile. 

"I'm curious about the connection between this diorama killer and Miss Sidle. Why send her the package?"

"It's obvious this person is taking a jab at me for some reason. He knows that I'm leading the case and wants to show how clever he is by attacking the person closest to me." Grissom pulled Sara closer to his side as he spoke.

"Captain Brass?"

Brass turned towards Officer Evans as he approached him from inside the townhome. "All clear?"

"Yes sir," Officer Evans proceeded to inform them that the box contained a small miniature of a crime scene. He didn't have a chance to describe the scene as Grissom pushed past them to enter the room.

Sara was close beside Grissom as he stopped in front of the counter that held the miniature that had been addressed to her and left in the townhome. She couldn't prevent the gasp that escaped or the dizziness that swept over her when her eyes absorbed the crime scene that was depicted within the diorama. If Grissom hadn't caught her, she was positive that she would have hit the floor with a dramatic crash.

"You okay? Sara?" Greg was on the other side of her, his anxiety for her well being at war with the curiousity that was pulling his attention towards the cataylst that had triggered a side of Sara that he'd never witnessed.

"I'll be fine," Sara held onto Grissom's forearms as she directed her attention back onto the diorama. "Who would do this, Grissom?"

Greg pulled his eyes from Sara's tortured face to the object of her attention and winced. There was a figure of a man, splayed out on the floor of a kitchen, a knife lying beside him as the figure of a girl crouched beside him, covered in the blood that was everywhere.

"Is this a crime scene that you recognize?" Parker asked, his question directed at Sara, who was still holding onto Grissom like a lifeline.

"Yes. I mean, no." Sara shook her head and closed her eyes briefly before opening them and returning her attention to the diorama, offering no further explanation.

Brass stared at the model for a minute before looking over at Grissom. "We need to find out where this is and send someone to the scene. Sara, if you recognize anything about the location then can you tell us where it is?"

The absurdity of that question struck her as funny and a strangled laugh escaped her lips before she shook her head again in dismay. Leading her to the couch and gently easing her onto the soft cushions, Grissom informed Brass that it wasn't possible to send anyone to that scene. They were more than twenty years too late for that.

Comphrehension must have hit the four individuals at once as a variety of emotions were tuned to the pale woman sitting on the couch, cradled in Grissom's arms.

"Not to be insensitive, but if you know something about this diorama then will you let us in on your knowledge of it and why it would be left here and addressed to you?" Parker asked, his voice betraying the irritation that he was feeling.

"Not now, Agent Parker." Brass said sharply, his words cutting in before Grissom or Sara could respond to the agents question. "The first thing we should do is move this diorama to the lab where we can start processing it for any evidence. Greg?"

Taking the hint, Greg nodded and sprang into action. "I'll get this to the lab pronto." Looking at the two agents, he requested some assistance in getting not just the diorama, but the rest of the evidence he'd come back to collect, into the Tahoe and on to the lab.

Reluctantly, Parker glanced over at the couple on the couch and then at the staunch Captain Brass before agreeing to this plan of action. He didn't like it, but it would give him time to inspect the other dioramas and begin a small investigation of his own when they reached the lab.

Tearing his attention from Sara's stoic face, Grissom watched as Greg and the two agents gathered the evidence and prepared to leave. Wanting nothing more than to pull Sara into the privacy of their bedroom where he could hold her in his arms and give her whatever comfort he could offer, Grissom forced himself to stand and move a few feet away from her to speak privately with Brass, who had waved him over towards the kitchen.

"I know this is your place, Gil, and I realize that I can't make you leave, but I'd feel much better if you took Sara back to the lab or better yet, somewhere far away from Vegas."

Grissom wanted to grab Sara's hand and get on the first flight to the furtherst part of the country, but it wasn't practical and they both knew it would never fly with Sara. As if his thoughts pulled her over to him, he felt her hand on his elbow as she forced a smile and took in the contemplative expressions on both men.

"I'm not leaving Vegas until we stop this person. I'm certainly not running away from a lunatic."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Sara, but it appears that you're running from something that may have caught up with you." Brass didn't like the haunted look that statement brought out in Sara's eyes, but it had to be said. The package was addressed to her and she was the projected victim in the diorama sent to Grissom at the lab.

Glancing around the townhome to ensure they were alone with Brass, Sara reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the photograph, not sparing it a glance as she handed it to Brass, who took it with an unsteady hand. "We found that in the study when we were searching."

"What's this?" Brass stared at the image of the child and looked back up at Sara. "Call me slow, but this looks like you and if I'm piecing this together I'm tying it in with that diorama that was left here by this miniature crazy."

"That's what it looks like." Sara kept her head up as she reached deep inside and pulled out her resolve not to break down in face of sympathy. She had broken down once in her life and that was with Grissom. That was it.

Brass waited for her to explain, his eyes darting to Grissom for answers when she made no move to offer any information. Grissom didn't feel that it was his place to share Sara's childhood nightmare, so he waited for a sign that she wanted him to give an explanation. It was Sara that finally spoke, and her detached tone scared him.

"When I was thirteen, my mother stabbed my dad. He was abusive and she lost it one day and decided to put a stop to it. I was sent to foster care, but I survived. _I'm going to survive this_."

Brass wanted to wrap her in his arms, but he refrained and opted with a serious nod. "_You _are a survivor, Sara Sidle. No doubt about that. Now that's out of the way, we need to focus on the who and why someone would send you this picture and then leave the dioramas involving you. Do you two need a lift back to the lab?"

Relieved by his directness, Sara gave him a geniune smile as she squeezed Grissom's elbow. "Let's get to work."

She only hoped that the rest of the lab would give her the same space as Brass and not begin treating her with kid gloves or pitying looks.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

And So it Goes...

By: Manigault

Note: Thank your for reading this story and for your patience! Thanks to those who have left comments.

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Nick met them at the entrance of the lab, his eyes sweeping over his exhausted friends before updating them on the activities of one Agent Parker since the man had returned to the lab with Greg.

"He's in your office as we speak, Gris, looking at the dioramas." The mistrust in Nick's voice wasn't lost on either Grissom or Sara.

Sara leaned into Grissom and touched his elbow. "I'll be fine with the guys. Trust me, I don't want to be alone right now." It took some convincing and Sara being safely between not only Nick, but also Greg who had appeared during their discussion, before Grissom would leave her side and let her out of his sight.

With much reluctance on his part, Grissom went in search of Agent Parker while Sara dragged her two friends in the opposite direction.

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"Agent Parker?"

Parker barely acknowledged Grissom's presence as he examined the dioramas that were displayed throughout the office.

Scowling, Grissom managed to keep his tone civil as he stepped inside his office and approached the agent. "Find anything interesting?"

"The details are remarkable." Parker commented as he glanced over at Grissom and then made a show of looking around him with surprise. "I thought Sidle would be with you. Where is she?"

Narrowing his eyes on the agent, Grissom pushed down the momentary panic that gripped him at the question. He'd left Sara with both Greg and Nick, each man assuring him that she wouldn't be out of their sight.

"She's safe." Grissom said testily. She _was_ safe. She's in the lab. Safe.

Parker studied him with those calculating eyes, but wisely kept his opinion to himself. "The details are meticulous and I imagine that it would take weeks for someone to manage. It's posible that there is more than one person involved."

"Are you a profiler?"

Parker looked for and found no sarcasm in Grissom's question.

"No." Parker's lips twitched in the first sign of a sense of humor he'd exhibited. "I'm making an observation and one that I'm sure you've considered."

"Well," Grissom took his glasses from his pocket and put them on as he searched for the right explanation. "We've discussed the possibilities of an accomplice."

"Only you don't feel there is one, do you?"

Hesitating for only a fraction of a second, Grissom shook his head, weighing options in his mind before answering. "You've read the files?" At Parker's nod, Grissom continued. "Then you know what we know."

"I'm not sure that everything you know is in those files." Parker walked slowly around the dioramas until he paused before the one that had been sent to Grissom's office. Pulling the cloth cover from the diorama, he pointed at the crime scene that Grissom knew only too well, tilted his head as though puzzled, and then tapped a finger on top of the plastic the miniature was enclosed within. "I read that you performed a-" Parker paused for emphasis, "mini autopsy if you will, on each of the figures. Only I didn't read about one performed on this figure."

Grissom didn't have to follow the tapping finger to know that Parker was indicating the small figure of Sara that was on the bed in the position where the mini killer had placed it. He'd wanted to cover up the small figure with a blanket. He'd also felt the desire to smash the miniature to pieces and throw it away in an attempt of pretending it never existed. In the end he'd covered it with a large cloth that was now held in Parker's hand.

Avoiding looking at the miniature of his bedroom, he kept his attention on the man who stared back at him with a knowing expression. Anger crept to the surface and he had to tamp it back down, reminding himself that they were working towards the same goal. At least he hoped that was the case.

"I didn't feel the need to cut into that figure." Grissom's clipped tone should have ended the conversation, but Parker wasn't one to back down.

"You couldn't cut into the figure because it represents Sidle." Parker casually put the cloth back over the diorama and noted the other man's posture relax, if only slightly. "I could do it for you."

Grissom snapped. He couldn't prevent the anger from flowing from his thoughts through his lips and out into the room as he ordered the agent to leave his office. "I don't want you touching Sara."

"It's not Sara, Grissom. It's a poor replication that represents Sidle. Have you considered that it's important, as important as the other figures, to check inside it and determine if there is anything to add to the investigation?"

Parker's words penetrated Grissom's anger and on a professional level, he knew that Parker was making a valid point.

"I'll do it." Grissom muttered with a defeated sigh.

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The diorama was a representation of her nightmare, more so than the photograph she'd entrusted Brass with not an hour previously. Pushing her revulsion to the back of her mind and reaching for a detachment that she'd learned at an early age, Sara studied the diorama and the scene that jumped out in vivid detail.

"Sara? You okay?"

Nick's concerned voice reached through the numbness and she nodded in response. "I'm fine, Nick. We need to analyze this miniature just like the others." She needed to find out who had access to that crime scene from twenty years ago and if the persons ultimate intent was too harm her or focus on Grissom through attacking her by bringing her past alive and threatening her life.

"It looks like real blood, but it's not possible that it's from the victims." Nick had to lean forward to catch her words as she almost appeared to be in a private dialogue with herself. "It could be fake blood or maybe from some animal."

Greg exchanged concerned looks with Nick, before contributing to the conversation.

"I started running tests when I brought it here to the lab. Actually, Hodges is running samples of the blood as we speak and Sims is pacing around waiting for him to finish. I told her it would take awhile, especially if Hodges is backed up and you know how he gets."

"Thanks Greg," Sara patted his arm and sent him a warm smile that faded as her eyes fell on the female agent that suddenly appeared in the doorway.

Irene waved a piece of paper and would have given them the results if a breathless voice beside her hadn't chimed in before she could open her mouth.

"It's pig blood," Hodges rushed out, his eager eyes taking in Sara's expression.

"Pig blood." Sara repeated with a shake of her head. "I'm not sure why that surprises me, but it does and I feel like I should know why."

"Maybe because you're a vegetarian?" Hodges offered with a shrug.

"Get out of here, Hodges, you're nuts." Nick waved him away with a dismissive hand, but felt Sara punch him lightly on the shoulder as she faced Hodges.

"I appreciate your getting the results to me so quickly, David. Thank you."

A slight blush colored Hodges cheeks and he nodded at her before shooting a 'so there' look at Nick. "Anything I can do to help, Sara." With that, he turned and left the room without looking back.

"Strange man." Irene commented as she handed the paper to Sara. "He was very anxious to give the results to you in person, although I assured him that I would make sure that you got them."

Taking the paper, Sara gripped it gently in her hands as her eyes ran over the results. "Hodges takes pride in helping solve cases. It's important to him."

"He believes that he alone is responsible for solving cases." Greg peered over Sara's shoulder at the results before looking up at Irene. "Any suggestions on why pig blood was used?"

"The mini killer wouldn't know that I'm vegetarian, would he?" Sara's mumbled words were again difficult to decipher as Nick shook his head.

"Hodges was throwing stuff out there, Sara, it can't have anything to do with your choice of foods." Nick turned back to the diorama. "The killer needed blood and pig blood is pretty close to human blood, isn't it?"

Irene picked up on his line of thought. "There is a similarity and it could be the reason that it was used. It's also possible that it was the easiest blood to come by and so it was used instead of paint or some other substance."

"We could be making too much of _what_ was used and probably should focus on the _why_ ." Sara bent over the diorama and took note of each small detail. "There are no pictures on the refrigerator."

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_This was ridiculous_. Grissom thought to himself as he stared in much trepidation at the tiny figure that he was about to cut open. Aware of the watchful eyes of both Parker and Warrick who had joined them in time to assess the situation, Grissom shut out all distraction and focused on the small figure as he would any of the other tiny models. Disassociation. That was the key to getting through this nightmare.

The first cut made him wince outwardly, but he managed to keep the groan internal as he pushed the mental imagery aside and opened the small figure.

"What is that?"

A sudden buzzing echoed around Grissom's ears and he felt his mind fog with the implications. Ignoring Warrick's outburst, he pushed away from the table and went in search of the one person who could answer that question.

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

And So it Goes..

By: Manigault

My apologies for taking so long with this chapter. I was hesitant to post it and I'm not certain how it will be received, but here it is. Very short, but I wanted to post something as I'll be out of town for awhile.

Ahhh, thanks for all of the comments on the previous chapter and to everyone who is sticking with this one!

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He wasn't sure how he managed to find his way along the hallway, but he did manage and soon found himself leaning against the doorway of the Trace lab where Sara stood, surrounded by Nick, Greg, and Irene. Staring at the slender brunette that he'd loved for over a decade he couldn't pull any thing out of his mind to formulate a coherent sentence. So he leaned against the door frame and waited until she looked up and met his eyes with a questioning look.

Sara felt his presence almost immediately and wondered why he would hesitate in the doorway and simply stare at her with that puzzled expression. Although she hadn't expected him to stay away for long, she didn't expect him to look so baffled when he did find his way back to her side.

"You okay?" Sara broke the silence and Grissom found all heads swivel around to take him in.

Not trusting his voice, Grissom nodded briefly as his eyes swept from Sara's face to her abdomen and then back up to her face where he could see the dawning realization in her eyes.

Keeping her eyes locked with Grissom's, Sara asked everyone to excuse them for a little while so that they could discuss something in private. Once alone, Grissom took a step inside the room and closed the door behind him before folding his arms over his chest and asking the question that he was trying so hard to make sense of.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Sara began to take a step towards him, stopped, shook her head. Fighting back the wave of emotion that was threatening to escape, she squared her jaw and kept her eyes focused on his face as she tried to evade the question with one of her own.

"What made you suspicious?"

"Agent Parker goaded me into cutting the miniature figure open like I've done on all of the others." Grissom unfolded his arms and placed a palm on the counter as he leaned his weight into the firm structure for support. "I shouldn't have to tell you that I didn't expect to find anything."

"Parker was with you when you cut that figure open?"

"Yes. Warrick was there also."

Sara tore her gaze from his as she turned her body slightly away from him. How did the miniature killer know? Nobody knew. She hadn't even been to her doctor or made an appointment.

"Sara?"

The hoarse whisper cut through her contemplation and she knew that he was waiting for her explanation. A heavy sigh escaped before she turned around to face him. "I found out the day you informed me that you were leaving for Williams College. I wasn't holding out on you, Griss, but wanted to tell you as soon as I found out so that we could discuss our options."

"So, this is my fault?"

"Your fault?" Sara repeated with a frown. "No, of course not, Grissom. I wanted to tell you in person and I planned on doing just that when you got home."

"Only when I got home we were confronted with the diorama of our bedroom and everything else has taken a back seat."

There was no anger in Grissom's voice as he spoke, only a touch of resignation that she knew only too well having been through the emotions herself. Silence fell between them as the enormity of their situation settled over them.

"Would you believe that I forgot when all of this started? I know that sounds unbelievable, but it's the truth. I've been so preoccupied with who this killer is and how he knows about my past that I've been in denial."

"How far along are you?"

With a shrug, Sara bit her bottom lip. "Maybe ten weeks? I need to make an appointment soon, but with everything that's going on..." Her voice drifted off as she turned her head to look at the latest diorama.

Following her gaze, Grissom took the final steps to her side as he reached out and tugged her gently against his chest. He rubbed his thumb against her lower back, speaking softly.

"We'll figure it out, Sara, okay? Right now it's probably best if we concentrate on finding the person that knew more than I did where you're concerned." Pulling back slightly, he drew his hand around to her abdomen. "Any ideas how this person figured it out?"

"I haven't had morning sickness, so that's out." Sara searched her memory for anything that would have led someone to discover her condition. "I took a pregnancy test, but not here and not at home."

"Then where did you take it?"

"The store where I bought it." Sara pushed back the thrill of Grissom's hand making gentle circles on her abdomen as she recalled the morning she realized that she'd missed her period that month and was possibly pregnant. Stopping on her way home at the corner market where she and Grissom often ran for odds and ends she bought a test and then stepped into the bathroom in her impatience to discover if it was positive or if she was overreacting.

"I tossed it in the trash when I left."

"Do you remember seeing anyone suspicious in the store that day?"

Pushing back on his chest and tilting her chin upwards, Sara gave him a slight smile. "I wasn't exactly in an observant mode that day, Griss."

Grissom nodded. He could see how her mind would have been preoccupied as he was having trouble assimilating his own thoughts. "There should be surviellance cameras in the store so I'll have Nick or Greg check on it for us."

A timid knock on the door caused them to take a few steps away from each other as Sara called for the person to enter.

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

And So it Goes...part seventeen

By: Manigault

Note: Hey to everyone reading this! My apologies for the very very long span of time between chapters.

I realize that this story has gone off on it's own tangent, but I'm planning to sprinkle in some of the spoilers that have come out and see how it mixes together in the end. LOL. My take on the spoilers is very lightly based on the actual factual spoilers. LOL

Thanks to everyone who has been patient and for all those who have encouraged me with your comments!

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Greg peered around the edge of the doorway, his expression a mixture of apprehension and disbelief.

"What is it, Greg?" Grissom's words were clipped, his annoyance aimed more at the interruption than the man himself. Feeling the light jab in the back of his ribs, he ammended his question with a short statement and reiteration. "It's okay, really. What do you need?"

"Another package was delivered."

"Where is it?"

"It's in your office. Warrick and Agent Parker are waiting for you to open it."

"Thanks Greg." Swiveling around to face Sara, he sent her a silent question as thier eyes locked. Nodding in response, Sara followed him from the room after casting one more glance towards the minature. For the briefest of seconds she thought of picking it up and carrying it with them to Grissom's office, but then decided against it and closed the door firmly behind her as they stepped into the hallway.

Walking between Grissom and Greg, Sara asked the question that was foremost on her mind. "Did anyone see who delivered the package?"

"Nope. Judy took a break and when she returned, it was sitting on her desk. It's addressed to Grissom and has no address, return or otherwise." Greg wanted to give her good news, but it was as if the package had appeared out of thin air. Nobody had seen anyone carrying a package, something that he'd checked on before finding Grissom and Sara.

Warrick was standing outside of the door to Grissom's office when they approached, sporting a look of irritation. Motioning towards the closed door, he muttered beneath his breath. "Agent Parker is annoying the shit out of me."

Alarmed, Grissom reached for the door knob, prepared to confront Parker if he'd opened the package. Seated on the edge of Grissom's desk, the agent greeted his entrance with a wry grin.

"I guess Warrick got tired of my company."

"More like your third degree questions," mumbled Warrick beneath his breath. Greg shot him a quick look and nodded in understanding. He'd already been put through the agent's questioning and didn't like the implications.

Ignoring Parker and directing his attention to the non descript box on his desk, Grissom looked for something to open it with and soon found a pair of scissors plopped on top of the box. Looking up, Grissom caught the smug expression on Parker's face and chose not to respond to it, instead turning his attention back to the package as he carefully slid the edge of the scissors along the tape on the top of the box.

Conscious of the curious onlookers, Grissom hesitated before he reached into the box to lift out a new diorama. A male doll was lying in a pool of blood in an otherwise white bathroom. Everything was white, including the man's clothing, the only splash of color being the startling red that covered the man, the walls, the toilet, the floor.

Parker slid off the desk and leaned towards the diorama, his eyes narrowed as he asked, "Recognize him?"

Startled, Grissom shook his head. "No. Why would I?"

Ignoring this question, Parker directed his attention to Sara who was leaning over Grissom's shoulder. "How about you? Anyone you know?"

Not as quick to deny any connection after the last surprise, Sara picked the magnifying glass up off the desk and leaned forward to examine the crime scene with a critical eye.

"No." Sara could hear the doubt in her own voice as she handed Grissom the magnifying glass. There was something familiar about the man, but she couldn't put her finger on it and it wasn't enough to voice. Was it?

Grissom picked up on her uncertainty, but said nothing as he waved the magnifying glass towards the diorama. "This one is going to be hard to place. There's no distinguishing building exhibited, only a bathroom, four nondescript walls."

Scrunching her forehead in concentration she tried to pinpoint why the man looked so familiar and was fairly certain it had nothing to do with her childhood. "I think that I've seen him before, and recently."

"A case you worked this past year?" Grissom suggested gently.

With a shrug, Sara couldn't give him a definitive answer so she hedged. "The facial details aren't that clear." Turning around to the small group that was gathered around the office, she asked in general. "Why don't you all take a look and see if you recognize the victim."

Warrick was the first to take the magnifying glass before handing it over to Greg and stepping back. "I don't know him."

Greg responded in a similiar manner as Sara frowned. She was positive that there was a familiarity about the man and that it was somehow case related.

Parker faced Grissom, his grim expression replacing the prior smirk as he spoke with a new seriousness. "It's not my intention to step on your toes, Grissom. You and your team have done a fine job with the case thus far, but now it's time that we both agree you can use some extra hands."

There was no surprise when Grissom didn't embrace this statement, but neither did he shoot down the idea of outside assistance. "The fact that you are on this case is a moot point so why don't we simply concentrate on finding who this victim is and save all of the platitudes."

Taking his lead, Warrick suggested that he'd call Brass and give him a heads up on the latest diorama. Touching Sara's elbow lightly, he gave her a reassuring look before leaving the office.

"I'll start going through past cases and see if there's anyone who looks like the mini victim." Sara glanced over towards Grissom who nodded in silent agreement.

"Take Greg with you." Grissom made direct eye contact with Greg and they exchanged a brief nod, the level of trust Grissom was entrusting in the younger man wasn't taken lightly by anyone witnessing the exchange.

"We'll be in the conference room." Sara's reassurance wasn't lost on Parker who refrained from making a comment as the door opened and Nick entered, Irene beside him.

"Grapevine has it that there's a new diorama," said Nick, his eyes darting from Sara to Grissom in concern.

"Hodges talks to much," Grissom said with a shake of the head.

A geniune smile flitted across Sara's lips as she closed the door behind herself and Greg and promptly ran into a cleaning cart. "Ouch!"

The door Sara had closed seconds before swung open as a frantic Grissom ran his eyes over her body searching for injury.

Rubbing her hip, Sara gave him a wry smile. "I ran into this cart. I'm fine."

Grissom looked at the apparently abandoned cart and frowned. "Who left this here?" Looking around the hallway, he noticed that there was an unfamiliar woman hurrying towards them, an apology spilling from her lips as she reached the cart.

"I'm so sorry! There was a family emergency and Natalie had to leave suddenly. She informed me that the cart was in this hallway, but I had no idea that it was blocking the door."

"It's okay, really." Sara gave the woman a warm smile that faltered as she had the distinct impression that there was something not right with the coolness behind the other woman's eyes. Shrugging it off, she and Greg moved off down the hallway after again reassuring Grissom she was okay.

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"We should begin with the files related to the miniature cases." Sara suggested as she and Greg contemplated the multitude of possibilities.

"That will only take about a month," grumbled Greg good naturedly.

They worked in companiable silence for several minutes when Greg blurted out of the blue. "You know, Sara, I'm happy that you and Grissom are together."

"Not now, Greg." Sara softened her tone as she continued, "at this time our focus needs to be on locating this killer. I do value your opinion, though, Greg."

Taking the hint, Greg pulled another folder from the shelf and placed it on the growing pile of folders on the table. "Should we go over these together or split up the stack?"

Lost in thought, Sara's hand paused on the folder she was about to pull off of the shelf. "The video. We should watch the video of the Dell foster kids, Greg, I'm almost certain that's where I've seen him."

An hour later they still had not located the video.

"It's not here," Sara muttered beneath her breath as she shot Greg a disbelieving look.

"Maybe it's been displaced." Greg snapped his fingers. "Or, maybe, Grissom has it in his office."

Sara nodded. "Let's go check."

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After Grissom shut the door to his office and returned to the room he made no apologies or explanations for his behavior to the two agents. Irene had observed his behaviour with concern, but Parker simply gave him a knowing nod before motioning to the diorama.

"Would you mind if we take some photos of this before you dissect the mini victim?"

Distracted, Grissom lifted his hand and gave his consent. He didn't add that photos were the first thing that were usually taken because it was apparent that hadn't happened in this case, and the agents were witnesses to that fact. His own lack of focus was evident and in order to bring about a resolution to the miniature crime cases he recognized the need to pull himself together.

He was pulling on some latex gloves when Warrick stepped back inside the office, his expression grim.

"We found the large version of the diorama."

TBC


	19. Chapter 19

And So it Goes...

By: Manigault

Note: What a season finale! I'm clutching my head and pacing. LOL. I knew that I should have finished this a month before the finale. Drat. As it goes...I'm going to continue to take mucho liberty with what aired and what I'm writing.

Writer's block where this story goes has been an issue. I'm swimming against the current but I hope to keep moving until I reach land. ( Chalk that up to being tired.)

Again, thanks to everyone who is still reading this and also for each and every comment. They rock.

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"We have identification for the person used in this latest diorama." Grissom informed Sara and Greg as they entered his office. "Trevor Dell."

"He was a Dell foster child." Sara stated as she pushed thoughts of the missing video tape to the back of her mind after making a mental note to ask Grissom about it later.

Grissom gave her a slight nod.

"Whose processing the scene?" Sara asked with a look around the room at the group that was gathered in Grissom's small office space. All they needed was Brass and Sophia to make it a night shift party.

"I'm sending Warrick and Nick out to gather any evidence," said Grissom, his tone dismissive as he waved the men from the room.

"I'll grab my kit and meet you in the lobby." Sara spoke to the two men as they walked past her and scrunched up her face into a frown as they avoided her eyes.

"You're not going with them, Sara. I need you here at the lab." Grissom braced himself for the reaction he expected as soon as the words were uttered and he

recognized the rising irritation that was building behind Sara's eyes. Hoping to keep her response to a minimum while there were others present, particulary the agents, he gave her a steel look that boded no argument.

Ignoring the silent warning, Sara barrelled ahead as Warrick and Nick quickly excused themselves, Agent Parker seconds behind them as he sent an amused smile in Grissom's direction but offered no explanation. Grissom shrugged. Technically, the agents could do as they wanted on this investigation, including taking over if they chose that option. Sara, on the other hand, was still under his supervision where work was concerned.

"I'm not going to be a prisoner in this lab, Grissom. Let me go with the guys to the scene and do my job. I'll be safe with them. Agent Parker will also be there it appears."

"You can process the evidence that is brought back and _that _is part of your job."

Grissom refused to back down on his decision to keep Sara in the lab and as close to himself as possible. In an attempt to change the subject, he directed his attention to Greg.

"Did you find anything would help us identify the miniature killer?"

Shifting uneasily from one foot to the next, Greg sent an sympathetic glance over at Sara before turning back to Grissom and saying quickly. "No."

"Well, keep looking. Catherine? Will you take Irene to the break room. I'll be along in a minute." Grissom felt no small amount of relief as the agent left without argument. Catherine, however, made sure to mumble a suggestion beneath her breath as she left the room. Grissom scowled as her warning reached his ears and he turned his attention to Sara, searching for the right words to make things right and marveling that he'd been doing that too much lately.

"Don't say anything, Grissom. I need a minute to think."

When Sara began to move past him, Grissom grasped her elbow and said softly. "Stay here while I check on the agents and have a word with Catherine. We'll talk when I get back, okay?" Taking the abrupt nod she gave him as acknowledgement of what he'd said, he backed out of the office, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

He stood outside the door and stared through the blinds with trepidation. She kept her eyes on him until he moved away from the door, but he didn't go far, not when she was alone. He couldn't. He walked several paces away from the windows of his office and then turned to lean against the wall where he could keep an eye on the door and anyone that approached. Screw the consequences of how it looked or what others thought of his over protectiveness. Things had to change eventually and it was up to him to make sure they changed for the better.

His ringing cell phone alerted him to the fact that he could still run things from his position in the hallway and possibly keep up to date on what was transpiring.

"Grissom."

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Sara paced the floor in front of Grissom's desk with small furious steps. Thoughts jumbled around her mind as she tried to discern the connection between the miniature killer and herself. Was there a connection or had the killer stumbled onto something about her past and run with it? On several occasions she'd pulled up information concerning Laura Sidle's trial, on one of the lab's computers, but she'd erased the cookies. At least she thought that she had covered her trail just in case some curious lab person decided to snoop.

A frown of concentration settled on her face as she tried not to jump to conclusions based on lack of solid evidence.

Thoughts of Grissom kept intruding into her musings and she growled with frustration. She_ knew_ he was only trying to protect her but his actions stung. She was already having to deal with the reprecussions of the "outing" of their relationship. Speculative looks shot in her direction from virtual strangers, not to mention the lab personnel she'd come to know over the years.

It shouldn't matter. But it did. She wasn't helping matters by reacting the way she had earlier and she accepted her own responsibility with a wry smile. She simply needed to stay actively involved with this case and get this crazy diorama killer behind bars so she could concentrate on the future. So, it didn't matter what others thought of her and yet, somehow, it did matter.

Touching her belly, her steps faltered. The looks would get worse as the months rolled on and she began to show. Her thoughts kept jumping from one thing to another so rapidly she wasn't making sense of anything. "Concentrate, Sara, focus on the present."

"I leave you alone for a few minutes and you start talking to yourself?" Grissom's stab at humor fell flat as Sara trained her troubled gaze on him.

Glancing down at the floor for a brief second, Grissom squared his jaw and looked back up as he spoke. "We've got a break in the case." Any personal issues that he and Sara had to discuss would have to wait, preferably until after they caught the miniature killer.

"Warrick and Nick found something?"

"Not yet," Grissom shook his head. "They haven't had time to get to the scene. No, it's Archie. I asked him to go over the video tapes from the convenience store where you say that you stopped that day to...well, you know." Grissom caught the question in her eyes. "I had no choice, Sara. Archie is the best at that and I trust him to keep anything he finds between us. He gave me his word."

Sara nodded. She both liked and trusted Archie, but the idea of someone else finding out so soon was unnerving. "What did he find?"

"I thought we'd go ask him together."

This earned him an approving look and he forced back the smile that threatened to turn up the edges of his lips. He wondered if hormones could account for her mood swings or if the stress of the entire situation was affecting her attitude. Thoughts that he would never venture to say aloud. Glancing over at her as they went in search of Archie he resisted the urge to place his hand on the small of her back and tried to keep his mind on the impending news regarding the miniature killer.

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Nick stood in the doorway of the bathroom and stared at the scene that mirrored the latest diorama. "Creepy."

A grunt of agreement was Warrick's response as they began the tedious movements of processing the scene while trying to ignore the hovering presence of Parker as he studied the scene and watched them work.

When he moved back into the recesses of the victim's apartment Nick exchanged an irritated look with Warrick, who simply shook his head and kept working.

Parker was used to being the object of irritation when he was brought into a local case and his only reaction was one of amusement. It made Irene uncomfortable, but he thrived on grating on people's nerves. A character flaw, he'd been told on more than one occasion by his own partner, yet one that had aided him on many an investigation.

"Find anything interesting?"

Parker turned to find Brass standing beside his elbow and smiled slightly. "Only a tiny miniature of our victim, without the blood."

Brass followed the agents pointed look and spied the tiny figure on the shelf. "I'll let the guys know."

When Brass moved away, Parker looked back at the tiny doll as his smile slid from his lips.

TBC


	20. Chapter 20

And So it Goes...

By: Manigault

**Note of thanks: I appreciate everyone who is reading this story and especially those taking the time to leave comments. Gracias. **

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"Hey Archie." Sara touched the lab techs left shoulder lightly, while smiling down at him as she'd done a dozen times in the past.

A slight blush darkened Archie's olive complexion and he avoided making eye contact with either herself or Grissom, who was standing on his right side. Focusing on the computer screen directly in front of him, Archie said a quick hello and then decided to get straight to business.

"There wasn't much activity in the store on the day you asked me to check for you, Grissom. Sara enters about here." He clicked a few keys and they saw Sara entering the convenience store, her expression sad and more than a little weary. Grissom felt his throat constrict as he watched her speak to the clerk behind the counter and then make her way down an aisle, her chin held high as she walked with a determined stride.

Archie split the screen so that the front door stayed on one side of the computer screen and another camera followed Sara as she stood in front of a display of pregnancy tests. Sara wrapped her arms protectively around her middle as she recalled that day and the emotional turmoil she had been experiencing. The fact that this event had been captured on video surveillance was daunting.

Picking up on the uncomfortable vibe emanating all around him, Archie risked a glance up and over at Sara and gave her a warm smile. "Your secrets safe with me, Sara, you know that right?"

"That's not what worries me, Arch, it's the fact that my every move was followed on camera. Why?"

"Oh, that." Archie gave a slight shrug and turned back to the computer. "It's not uncommon these days that the owners of some of these stores invest in top notch surviellance cameras. They have been robbed so many times. The cameras catch every aisle and anybody that enters." With only a brief hesitation, Archie smirked. "The bathrooms are safe. No cameras."

"What a relief," said Sara with a smirk of her own as she took that second to glance over at Grissom whose attention appeared to be transfixed on the screen, his expression one of someone miles and miles away.

Turning back to the computer, Sara ventured a question. "Any possible suspects, Archie?"

Clicking a few more keys Archie sped up the second screen and then paused it as a woman entered the front door of the shop. She wore a cap pulled low over her face and her long brown hair spilled over her shoulders in a scraggly manner. She kept her head down so there was no clear view of her face.

"There are only three people that entered after Sara did and the other two were a young couple that were all into each other, not observant of anyone else in the store at all." Archie clicked some more keys and they could follow the stranger as she moved from one aisle to another, aparently searching for something...or someone?

Grissom felt a multitude of emotions as he kept his focus trained on Sara as she picked up one box, looked at it, put it back, picked up another. He could only imagine what was going through her mind as she contemplated this unexpected turn of events. It was a comment from Sara that made him turn and look at the stranger that was moving along the aisle towards the section where Sara had stood.

"I don't remember seeing her at all." Sara mused as she kept her arms wrapped around her middle in a protective stance. "If that is our miniature killer then she was right next to me and I didn't even know."

Tearing his gaze away from the stranger, Grissom looked over Archie's head towards Sara, saying, "We pass by potential killers every time we go to the grocery store or the gas station. The fact that this potential suspect was standing next to you and your thoughts were preoccupied to the extent that you didn't notice, then that's only a natural part of human nature."

"Grissom? You aren't making me feel better." Sara kept her tone light and teasing, but his words creeped her out, seriously. It wasn't as though she hadn't faced the results of violance on a daily basis for more than a decade, but when it stared you in the face, perspectives changed. An involuntary shiver ran along her spine as she watched the woman follow her along the aisle all the way to the counter where Sara purchased the pregnancy test and then retreated to the privacy of the public restroom.

"She's hovering near the doorway to the restroom." Archie hit a fast forward button as Sara exited the restroom wearing a stunned expression as she made a hasty retreat from the store. Within seconds, the stranger entered the bathroom.

"She must have found the test." Sara felt violated as she imagined this possible suspect rummaging around in the trash can for the stick that showed a positive result.

"Please tell me it was sitting on top of the trash can and she didn't have to dig." Archie shuddered at the thought of someone digging around in nasty trash.

"I dropped it in the trash can and didn't pay attention." Sara watched the woman exit, her head still lowered so that her face wasn't clear enough to distinguish it from anyone else on the street. There was something familiar, however, and the thought pressed on her subconscious.

"Sara? What is it?" Grissom watched the confusion play across Sara's face and resisted the urge to walk around Archie and take Sara in his arms.

It was probably the simple fact that on a subconscious level she recognized the woman from that day in the store, nothing more and nothing less. Sara made herself smile towards Grissom and shake her head.

"It's just a feeling, Griss, that's all."

Grissom had no chance to expound on her statement as the phone beside Archie began ringing and the lab tech eagerly retrieved it, thankful for any excuse to avoid the new tension vibrating around the room.

"Archie. Hey there, Warrick. Yeah, he's right here."

Grissom took the phone with a puzzled expression and immediately received the answer to why Warrick was calling him on a land line.

"I've been trying your cell, Griss and you're either not answering or you left your phone someplace else."

"My desk. What's going on?"

Sara listened to Grissom's side of the conversation before her beeper began vibrating against her hip. Checking the id plate, she read a short message from Greg asking her to meet him in the locker room. Frowning, she wondered why the locker room but decided she could take advantage of the break to relieve her bladder.

She glanced at Grissom who was bent over the table, scribbling some notes on a piece of paper that Archie had provided for him, and turned her attention to the young lab tech.

"Tell Grissom to find me in the locker room, Archie, okay? Greg asked to meet me there."

"I'll go with you." Archie offered, his concern evident as he made to stand up only to receive a shake of the head from Sara.

"It's less than a twenty feet from here, Archie, I'll be fine."

Leaving the room before Archie could protest, she was out the door and down the hall in seconds. She would be lying if she didn't acknowledge that she'd been feeling a bit claustophobic with everyone shadowing her every move and that the sudden freedom was a relief. Grissom would get over it.

Glancing back over her shoulder she noticed that Archie was watching her progress down the hallway, all the way to the locker room where she turned and waved. He lifted a hand and turned back inside the computer room.

Shaking her head with a small smile, she entered the locker room and found it empty, with the exception of a cleaning cart.

"Greg?"

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Filling the coffee mug for the second time in the past thirty minutes, Catherine returned to her seat across the table from Irene. She and the agent had retreated to the break room as Grissom had asked and now they were filling the time with various stories of past cases.

Turning the subject to Irene's partner, Catherine ventured with the observation of the man's good looks.

"Yeah, he isn't bad looking." Irene admitted with a wry laugh. "He knows it, however, and along with his mile wide ego he's a pain to work with."

Picking up on some other emotion, Catherine grinned. "You don't mind being partners with him, though, do you?"

"He's a good man." Irene sipped on her coffee and frowned. "Don't let him know that I admitted that."

Catherine would have continued this line of questioning, but a frantic Grissom burst through the door, his eyes wild with fear.

"Have you seen Sara?'

"She was with you, Gil, last time we saw her in your office, before coming in here."

Grissom didn't respond as he backed away from the doorway without explanation. Sara had been with him, safe, and then by the time he hung up the phone with Warrick and turned to catch her up to speed, Archie informed him that Sara had received a page from Greg and went to the locker room to meet him.

Immediately Grissom sprinted to the locker room in search of Sara, almost tripping over a housekeeper pushing her cleaning cart along the hallway. "Excuse me," he mumbled as questions bounced around his mind. Why would Greg page her to the locker room, especially when he could have tracked her down in the computer room. And why would Sara go without waiting for him to go with her?

Entering the locker room, Grissom found it empty, nothing out of place and no sign that Sara was in there minutes before.

"Sara?"

TBC


	21. Chapter 21

And So It Goes...

By: Manigault

**Note: Again, thanks to everyone reading this story and for those leaving comments. Each and every one is appreciated! **

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"Where is Greg?"

"Calm down, Gil, I'm sure that Sara's fine. Did you check the locker room completely? Or did you storm into the room and run back out in a panic?" Catherine, along with Irene, had followed Grissom back into the hall where he was attracting attention from curious lab personnel. She couldn't believe that someone could have whisked Sara away from the lab in front of everyone and with nobody the wiser. There had to be an explanation.

"I'm calm." Grissom growled back, his fear only equaled by his temper.

"I'll check the locker room again." Irene offered as she made a quick retreat from the clearly distraught man.

"I'm calling Brass. We need the building shut down and searched." Grissom rubbed his forehead with shaking fingers and tried to gain control of his racing pulse as he dialed the phone and waited for Brass to answer.

Catherine pulled her own phone out and dialed Greg, who answered on the second ring. "Greg? Is Sara with you?"

"Nope. I'm wading through these files that she was supposed to help me out with. I'm guessing she's still with Grissom." Greg wiped his nose with the back of his hand and fought back another sneeze. Why did they even have old boxes of paperwork? Computers had been around for years.

"Why did you page Sara to meet you in the locker room?" Catherine pressed the younger man as a feeling of uneasiness began to form.

Greg paused, one hand resting on top of a stack of folders as he quipped. "Yeah, sure, I'd page Sara to meet me in the locker room like we're five. Why would I do that? I need her in here to help me."

"Someone paged Sara using your name, Greg, maybe you should get out here now? We're outside the breakroom."

It didn't take anything more for Greg to dash out to the hallway, skidding against the wall on the opposite side before regaining his balance, his fears mounting as he ran towards the breakroom where Catherine was waiting.

"Where is Grissom? Did you find Sara?" Greg gasped as he leaned back against the wall in an attempt to catch his breath.

"I told Grissom that you never paged Sara and didn't know anything about it and he took off. We need to spread out and search the lab. She couldn't be far and there's no way that someone could sneak her out of here without drawing attention." At least that's what Catherine was hoping as she thought of the fear etched on Grissom's face. It would be doubly bad for him as he was the last one with her before she took off for the locker room. "Find Archie and have him check the cameras in the hallway."

Greg nodded as he raced off again, this time towards Archie with the urgent request.

When Greg reached the computer room Archie was already reviewing tapes and the self reproach was evident in his voice as he spoke quickly.

"I watched Sara enter the locker room, Greg. I saw her go inside. It couldn't have been long before Grissom took off in that direction to look for her and found she was gone."

Greg listened to Archie and nodded towards the cameras. "It's not your fault, Archie. Sara's a big girl." And a stubborn one, Greg thought, but kept that to himself as he directed Archie's attention back to finding Sara. "You see her exit?"

"No. That's just it. She enters and then you see Grissom running into this housekeeping cart before going into the locker room."

"Wait. Back up. Was the cart leaving the locker room? Who was pushing it?" Greg had a bad feeling about this as he watched Archie run the tape backwards and show a woman pushing a cart from the locker room. Seconds later, Grissom ran into the cart, barely looking at the woman or the cart as his attention was on his destination.

The woman quickly pushed the cart on down the hallway and in a direction that Greg knew would lead towards a back emergency exit. "Archie, are there cameras in the back?"

"There are cameras everywhere. I'm on it."

Greg pulled out his phone and dialed the one person he most dreaded on seeing right now. Although he didn't page Sara earlier, he wondered if Grissom would blame him for it anyway.

"Grissom. You should see this."

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"A housekeeping cart?" Nick stared in a mixture of horror and fascination as the cameras clearly showed a woman pushing a cart from the building and out to a cleaning service van several feet from a back exit. "I know that Sara isn't big, but still..."

"It's possible. We've seen stranger things." Warrick commented as he looked around the conferance table at the small group gathered. Catherine was staring at the pictures of the woman pushing the cart, Greg looked shell shocked, Irene concerned, Parker...Warrick wasn't sure what Parker was thinking. His face was a blank.

The only persons missing from the night shift were Grissom and Brass, the latter who was conducting a search for the cleaning van and the driver. The former entered the room at that second and Warrick tensed as he recognized the grim look on his supervisors face.

Grissom placed a folder on the table and said briskly. "Natalie Davis. She was one of Ernie Dell's foster children and apparently was still very close to him."

He didn't add that he was almost positive that she was the woman that had followed Sara in the convenience store the day she took the pregnancy test. That news would come in it's own time and was the least of his worries.

"Sofia and Vartrann are on their way to her apartment. Nick, Warrick? Would you go out to this address and keep an eye out for her if she isn't in her apartment?"

Warrick patted Grissom on the shoulder as he and Nick stood and walked quickly from the room.

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A stirring of memories rushed at her in spurts of recollection. Receiving a page from Greg and thinking that it would be harmless enough to go by herself to the locker room. Stepping inside the room. A housekeeping cart. A familiar woman walking around the corner of the lockers holding something. Pain. Pain coursing through her body as she felt stunned by the object the woman was holding. Falling. Darkness sweeping over her as she the last thing she felt was her hip hitting the edge of the bench.

Now she tried to open her eyes and found herself staring at a brown dusty surface. Ground? It was the ground as she felt the rough gravelly surface pressing into her cheek. Pain ran along her spine and down to her toes. She was conscious of the fact that she could feel her toes and the relief of that knowledge. Why would this woman attack her and bring her to this unknown place? Who was she?

These thoughts faded as her grip on reality began to fade back into an uneasy sleep.

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Sofia looked around the suspects apartment and winced at the sheer horror of what now appeared an obsession with Sara and to a lesser extent, Grissom. Detailed drawings littered the room and showed Sara at several crime scenes, Sara in the park walking a dog, Sara in a coffee shop sipping a latte, Grissom and Sara holding hands. Sofia did a double take as she stared at this drawing.

Grissom and Sara holding hands? Although she knew they were together, as everyone now knew, this image was still startling. What was more startling was the fact that Natalie had a keen interest in the relationship and her dozens of drawings revealed that fact.

"Good news," Vartrann said from behind her, causing her to jump slightly at the intrusion of her thoughts. "Warrick and Nick caught Natalie on Fremont street and took her down to the station. Jim is going to conduct an interview."

"That's good to know." Sofia flipped open a drawing pad and pointed to the first page. "This looks like a perfect drawing of the first miniature crime scene."

Vartrann looked over her shoulder and winced. "What a shame that someone so talented could be a killer."

"Well, she most certainly has issues," Sofia flipped the page and found more drawings of the first victim.

"What is this?" Vartrann had walked away from Sofia, his attention captured by one particular drawing that was displayed on one of the walls filled with images of Sara. In the middle of the wall was the picture of a red mustang, crumpled, laying in the desert, a lone arm reaching out from beneath the tangled mass.

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Grissom stepped inside his office, closing the door behind him in an attempt to give himself a second to recover in private. Pressing the palms of his hands against his eyes, he willed the impending headache to go away before he slowly lowered his hands and took a step towards his desk where his medication was kept.

A second later he stumbled, caught his balance on the edge of the desk, shocked as his gaze locked on something that was sitting in the middle of his desk, the red a stark contrast to the brown surface.

"Oh, shit."

TBC


	22. Chapter 22

And So It Goes...

By: Manigault

Note: Thanks to everyone who is reading this story. Thank you for each and every comment.

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Irene looked slowly around the apartment of Natalie Davis before shooting a quick glance over at Parker, who appeared captivated by the images of Sara.

"Weird, huh?" Irene picked up a small model of a cacti and frowned. She'd seen the miniature that Grissom found in his office, the one of Sara beneath a Mustang someplace in the desert, and looking at this small object she pondered the fact that it was another link between the diorama and the troubled woman.

"_Fascinating _would be a better word." Parker slipped his latex gloves on and leaned in towards one particular drawing that showed a very detailed image of the crumpled Mustang.

Wrinkling her nose at him, Irene shook her head and moved towards a shelf that held multiple books of various subjects. She had requested to be allowed to come to this apartment after Sofia had informed Catherine of the nature of the womans focus, an apparent obsession with Sara Sidle. An involuntary shiver ran up her spine as she surveyed the room once again, this time her attention focused on a drawing of Sara and Grissom walking in a park. They looked so in love with one another, she was a little surprised that Natalie had captured that sentiment.

Less than a second had elapsed when Irene heard a small gasp from the doorway and turned to find a stunned Catherine scrutinizing the room.

Placing her kit on the floor, Catherine spoke with a shaking voice, "I thought that I was prepared for this after getting an account from Sofia, but this is insane."

"The more you look around the crazier it gets." Irene waved her hand around the work station in an indication of the fact that was obvious to anyone with an ounce of sanity.

"Anything useful in helping us find out where Sara could be?" Catherine slipped on a pair of latex gloves as she spoke, her attention now focused on the task at hand. She was not about to allow Sara to become another victim of the miniature killer.

"As we speak, no." Irene turned back to the books on the shelf, hoping there was something that could give them a clue as to where Natalie had taken Sara.

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Wet. She was wet and aching all over as she slowly opened her eyes and stared again at the ground that pressed against her face. She'd never been claustophobic, but now, in this instant, she was filled with the urgent need to get away from the confines of the metal heep she was trapped beneath. Replaying the memories that she'd earlier recalled she added a few more to the tangle of thoughts.

The wild eyed woman holding the taser was the same woman that she'd bumped into earlier that day when she'd left Grissom's office. Natalie. Why would this woman want to harm her and take her from the lab? Her eyes widened as the realization sank into her muddled brain. The seriel killer they were searching for was not a man, but a woman. A young woman by the looks of her and one that was more cunning than Grissom had given her credit for, or herself for that matter.

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The miniature of the Mustang crumpled over a prone Sara was displayed in the conference room and the object of curious onlookers. Hodges, Mandy and Wendy studied the miniature with dazed expressions.

"I never dreamed that Sara, our Sara, would be a victim of this lunatic." Mandy sniffed slightly and wiped her nose with a tissue that was worn from use.

"She's going to survive," Wendy said firmly. "Sara is the strongest woman that I've every known and she won't let this keep her down. I'm positive."

"The hand of the miniature is still moving," Hodges leaned in close to the miniature to study the mechanism of the doll's hand.

"What's going on here?"

All three lab techs jumped as the hoarse voice of Gil Grissom spread throughout the room, and quickly making excuses, they all bailed from the room with the exception of Hodges who kept a brave front in the face of the disheveled supervisor.

"I was studying the miniature to see if there was anything that would give us a clue." Hodges waited for Grissom's response, which was quick in coming.

"If there is anything that you can find to give us a clue, then by all means, I'm not stopping you David."

Grissom eased himself into a chair and stared at the miniature with disdain. If Hodges could find something to lead them to Sara then he would never speak unkindly of, or for that matter to, the lab tech again.

Taking that as his opportunity to examine the miniature Hodges pulled a pair of gloves from his pocket and reached for the car, his own heart skipping a beat when it revealed the miniature Sara. He geniunely liked Sara, in fact more than any of the other investigators, and the fact that she and Grissom were an item was all the more impressive to him.

A glance over at Grissom showed the man's concentration was on the moving hand of the doll.

"The hand looks slower than it was only a few minutes ago," Grissom's voice was barely above a whisper, but Hodges heard the new fear in his voice. Studying the doll's hand he agreed with Grissom's opinion. The hand was moving slower than it had been when he and the other lab techs were looking at it.

"It's a battery, Grissom, it doesn't mean anything." Hodges hoped that his voice sounded certain even as his own fears were dominating his thoughts. "Natalie couldn't possibly plan the span of this mechanism to coincide with whatever is happening to Sara." Hodges voice trailed off as he realized every word he uttered was making Grissom more anxious with fear.

"If you discover anything useful, David, then let Brass know. I need to get out of here." Grissom felt waves of nausea assault him as he weaved his way from the room and into the hallway towards his office. The fact that the tiny hand that symbolized Sara was slowing meant nothing. It couldn't. They would find Sara in time and she would be okay. They would be okay. They had to be.

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"What's this?"

Irene and Catherine both stopped and looked at Parker who had pulled a notebook out of a drawer and was staring at it with a frown.

"Does it have any clue as to where Sara could be?" Catherine didn't want to waste time on anything that could distract them from their goal of finding Sara.

"Possibly. It's copies of newspaper clippings of the murder of Sara's dad and the trial of Laura Sidle." Parker flipped the pages of the notebook and saw images of a young child, covered in blood, the caption that read _Sara Sidle witnesses the fatal stabbing of her dad_.

Stunned, Catherine walked over to stand beside him and tried to comphrehend what Parker was saying about Sara's past. It could explain so much about the anger issues Sara had displayed in investigations when confronted with abusive husbands.

"Here it says that a young Sara Sidle was put into the foster care system." Parker swiveled around to speak to Irene who had stopped her perusal of the books to listen to what he and Catherine were talking about concerning Sara.

"That could explain the obsession with Sara that Natalie appears to have exhibited. Brutal murder. Foster care. She may have decided they had so much in common." Irene shook her head and said with a new sadness. "Only why would she harm Sara if she thought they had this connection?"

"Perhaps she wanted something that Sara has that she doesn't; the love and attention of someone else." Parker had surprised Irene with his answer, but it was quickly ptu into question by Catherine who pointed out Grissom's theory that Natalie was taking away the only person he'd ever loved because Grissom had taken away Ernie Dell.

"At least in her eyes Gil took him away." Catherine concluded with a wry expression. "We may never know what her reasons are if she doesn't respond to the interrogations." The pager on her hip beeped and she pulled it off to look at the id. "It's Jim."

Within seconds Catherine was on the phone with Jim and a look of hope stole over her face. "I'm on my way."

Irene and Parker looked at her with expectant eyes as she clicked the phone shut. "One of the tow truck services that Nick and Warrick spoke with gave a general direction as to where the truck was towed."

"I'll ride with her," Irene dashed after the already retreating back of the other woman, before hesitating in the doorway. "You coming with us, Parker?"

"No, I want to stay here and examine everything. Give me a call if you find Sara."

Irene barely made it to the car before Catherine gunned the engine to take off for what she was to discover was a distance not far from the outskirts of Vegas.

TBC


	23. Chapter 23

And So It Goes...

By: Manigault

Thank you for reading and commenting! It's appreciated!

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Brass barely knocked on the door of Grissom's office before swinging it open and speaking quickly. "We have a possible lead, Gil, let's go."

When Grissom didn't jump up or otherwise acknowledge his presence, Brass stepped further into the room and approached the slumped over man. A new fear struck him as he moved around the desk and faced his old friend with an apprehensive expression. Grissom was bent over, his head pressed into the palms of his hands as his elbows balanced on his knees.

Touching his shoulder, Brass said quietly, yet with urgency. "Gil. Are you okay?"

Grissom practically jumped out of his skin as the sound of Jim's voice penetrated his thoughts and he pulled out of the trance he'd been in since observing the doll's hand slowing. In his mind, he'd been retracing all of his steps and going over and over the events leading up to Sara's abduction and then the events after her abduction and the arrest of Natalie. The failed interview with Natalie. He'd never felt such an extreme level of frustration and anger as he did when she started singing that macabre song and he'd reached forward to shake her violently. He'd never touched another person in that manner, but the truth was he knew that he'd do it again given the same situation.

Confusion cleared briefly as he focused in on Jim's concerned face and asked sharply. "Do you have news on Sara? Have you found her yet?"

"You are in deep my friend," Brass had known Grissom for years and had never seen the man in such disarray. It pained him to see the flicker of hope that ignited within Grissom's eyes. "We have a lead. Nick hit pay dirt with one of the tow truck companies and they gave us a direction after some pressure was applied." The words were barely out of his mouth when Grissom leapt to his feet and brushed past Brass, leaving the dazed man behind as he took off at a run.

"I'm not healthy enough for this." Brass muttered the statement as he trotted after Grissom, knowing there was no possible way he could keep pace with the driven man. By the time he reached the front of the building Grissom was in his car, engine revving as he waited impatiently for Brass.

With a rushed slid into the passenger seat, Brass puffed out between his breaths, "If you knew where to go then I believe you would have left me without another thought."

Ignoring the obvious jab, Grissom asked briskly. "What direction, Jim?" He was pulling out onto the road and gripping the wheel as though it were his lifeline. Brass imagined that at this second, it_ was _his lifeline.

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Breathing was growing more difficult and she couldn't feel the tips of her fingers where they had dug into the wet earth. She was tired, so tired. Images kept swimming in her mind of so many people that were familiar to her, only she couldn't remember their names.

_Why am I so cold? And why am I lying face down on the ground? _

She wanted a shower. A warm shower. Trembles swept up her spine and she couldn't keep her eyes open. Fighting the sleep was too much work and she let her eyes drift shut with images of a wild eyed stranger attacking her with some object.

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"I guess you and Sara have worked together for years so you must be close." Irene ventured conversation as she gripped the 'oh, shit' bar and held on as they sped down the highway.

"I wouldn't call us good friends," Catherine kept her eyes on the road ahead and thought of the most recent bonding sessions they had experienced. "We've had our differences in the past, but were recently getting past all of that."

"Two strong females on the same team." Irene said with a thoughtful nod. "That would make sense that there would be some antagonism."

Catherine sighed as she peered through the windshield and into the night. "If I'm honest with myself, and you, then I have to admit that most of it was my fault. Sara was top notch from the beginning and from the first I gave her a hard time."

"That happens to the best of us," Irene looked across the seat at the eloquent woman and winced inwardly. She would imagine that this was one lady who didn't like sharing the limelight with another pretty female.

"It's all past history now and as soon as we find Sara I plan on making amends." Catherine shook her head and frowned at the thoughts of her own past behaviour towards Sara.

"You've known Grissom for a long time?" Irene was a nervous talker and she wondered at what point Catherine would tell her to shut up and let her concentrate on driving.

On some level Catherine must have realized that she needed the distraction to keep her own mind off the possibilities of what they'd find when they located the red mustang. She refused to accept the possibility that they wouldn't find it and therefore find Sara.

"Gil and I go a long way back and our friendship has been all over the map. There was a time I could drop by his home for an after work drink and bitch session and it was nothing to go out to a movie on our off days. I didn't even realize that aspect of our friendship had dissolved until I discovered the relationship between him and Sara had been going strong for over two years."

Irene didn't detect any jealousy in the other womans voice, only sadness, and she wondered at the depth of friendship between the two colleagues. It was odd that they could have drifted apart so much that Catherine didn't notice that her 'old friend' was shacking up with one of his investigators.

As if reading her mind, Catherine said softly, "We've had some disagreements over the past couple of years and my own personal life has been a shambles, so it wasn't that difficult for our friendship to dissolve into a working friendship only. If I wasn't busy, then Gil was busy and now I know why." This last statement was said with a wry smile. "I wish that he'd thought enough of our friendship to tell me about his relationship with Sara, but he's a very private man."

"Sara is a private person as well from what I've gathered." Irene thought of the articles concerning Sara's childhood tragedy and the stunned expression on Catherine's face when she realized the truth of her past. Take two very private people and top that with one being the supervisor of the other and well, she couldn't say that she blamed Grissom or Sara for not filling Catherine in on their secret life.

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"Floor it, Warrick. Do you want me to drive?"

Warrick shot an agitated look across the passenger seat towards the antsy man who was leaning forward as if his momentum could make the car go even faster.

"I'm topping ninety, Nick, so chill okay? I want to get to Sara as much as you, but the key being getting there, understand?" Warrick pressed his foot down a bit more even as he made the comments.

"I know, Warrick, I'm just anxious." Nick suppressed the memories of his own ordeal of being trapped beneath the ground, not knowing if he'd ever see another friendly face. He didn't like the idea of Sara experiencing anything near what he'd gone through. It pained him to his core, in fact.

Warrick felt his foot press down harder as Nick was speaking and images of his friend fighting for his life, a loaded gun inches away, sprang to mind. Although the conditions were much different now, the fact was that another good friend was in danger and he felt helpless.

"Sara is going to be okay, Nick." Warrick said a silent prayer that his words would be the truth.

TBC


	24. Chapter 24

And So It Goes...

By: Manigault

Note: Thank you to everyone for reading this WIP, I'm sure they can be frustrating. Hmmm, I know they can be frustrating. Thank you to those who have commented!

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Lights. Sounds. Action. She felt as if she were in the center of an dramatic film, a movie that she'd watched some time ago but couldn't remember the name. If her thoughts were not so muddled she would have laughed. In fact, she did laugh, only the sound came out more of a moan.

Voices.

There were voices around her and she felt someone whispering something against her ear. It tickled, but she couldn't respond. She couldn't focus in on the face that was so close to her own.

Sleep. She just wanted to go back to sleep.

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"Sara! Honey? You're going to be okay. Sara?" Grissom lay on the ground, his face inches from Sara's as he urged her to open her eyes. There were people working on getting the Mustang off of her and EMT's eager to jump in and begin working on the now unconcious woman.

Hypothermia and dehydration were tossed around as anxious onlookers observed the conditions and the state of the victim. Nick and Warrick worked with the crew to get the car off Sara while Catherine and Brass watched helplessly as Grissom pleaded with her to stay awake.

"She's alive, Jim, that's one for us." Catherine said beneath her breath.

Brass nodded at the truth of Catherine's statement but kept his eyes locked on the dramatic scene playing out before them and around them. He didn't need to state the fact that Sara wasn't out of the woods and they would need to get her to a hospital as quickly as possible. That went without saying as they watched the activity with creased foreheads.

Greg bounded up to stand beside the pair as the scene unfolded, his eyes trained on his trapped friend and his mentor. He'd been one of the last to arrive at the scene, his fears easing only a fraction as it had become clear that Sara was holding on. She was bad off, seriously bad and he was frightened for her life. Eager to help, he started forward only to feel a firm grip around his upper arm as Brass spoke low and firm.

"Hold on, Greg, they have everything in control and we'll simply get in the way at this point."

Frustrated, Greg nodded in consent but watched for any opportunity to leap in and help out if needed. A flurry of activity surrounded them as a crane lifted the Mustang from Sara, EMT's gently pushed Grissom away from the prone woman, and Warrick stepped in to encourage Grissom to give them a chance to work on Sara.

Organized chaos. That would be the description that Greg would recall for years as they anxiously watched Sara being lifted onto a stretcher and carried to a life flight chopper. Grissom tried to follow, but several shakes of the head by the EMT's kept him at bay. Propelled forward, Greg reached Grissom's side and said loudly over the sound of the helicopter.

"I'll drive you to the hospital, Griss. Come on!"

One by one Sara's friends ran from the scene to their waiting vehicles, eager to reach the hospital and news of her condition.

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Imprinted in his mind was the image of Sara covered in wet dirt, one side of her face scratched and bleeding, fingers of one hand raw to the tips as she'd dug into the ground. He couldn't shake this picture from his thoughts as he leaned against the cold glass of the SUV as Greg barrelled along the interstate towards University Medical Center, following Brass and Catherine as they led the way with lights flashing.

Aware of climbing into the passenger seat beside Greg, Grissom closed his eyes and hoped the younger man would take the hint and not speak to him. Thankfully Greg was too wary of speaking into the tense silence to say more than muttered irritation that Brass wasn't going fast enough. Tapping the steering wheel, he spared a glance over towards Grissom and unconsciously put his foot down more on the pedal until he was inches behind Brass. He was tempted to pass the older man, but held back knowing only too well how that would go over.

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"That kid is going to piss me off," Brass grumbled as he kept glancing in the rear view mirror. "If I go much faster my car will fall apart and then where will we be?"

Catherine mustered a tight smile in his direction as she too glanced in the rear view mirror. "He's just anxious."

"Him and everyone else." Brass radioed ahead to some of his men, checking on the progress of the helicopter. Seconds later he motioned to Catherine. "Maybe you can call Gil and let him know that the chopper landed and Sara is holding her own."

Without questioning, Catherine dug out her phone and dialed a familiar number. "Gil?"

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Nick was driving behind Greg and Grissom, his attention focused on the car in front of him. "I wish they'd go faster. You think I could pass them both?"

"Noooo," Warrick drawled out on a tight breath. He pressed his feet into the floor board and regretted allowing Nick to drive this time. "Greg will be lucky if Jim doesn't pound him into the ground when we get to the hospital, for driving on his ass. I don't want to contribute any reasons for him to be pissed off at us."

"Fine."

Nick pounded the steering wheel and said a prayer for Sara as they sped along 95 towards the hospital.

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It was pandemonium in the ER as Grissom rushed into the hospital, vaguely aware of being surrounded by his team. Officers were spread throughout the front lobby, several giving them sympathetic looks as they hurried past, eager for news of their injured comrad.

Pausing at the front desk Grissom asked with some desperation where Sara Sidle had been taken.

The receptionist, aware of the investigator arriving on the life flight, said with much compassion. "Sir, the life flight chopper lands on the top floor and then transports the patient to the trauma room. You can't go into the trauma room, but I'll let the attending doctor know that you're out here and requesting information."

Staring at her in disbelief Grissom tried to tamp down his growing frustration. It wasn't reasonable to him that he could be so close to Sara only to have protocol keep him from seeing her now, not at this crucial time when he'd thought he'd lost her for good.

Numb, he allowed Catherine to urge him to a nearby chair while Brass argued with the receptionist and insisted on having someone come talk with them concerning Sara's condition.

"Not an hour from now, but right now or I'm going to insist on going back there and finding out for myself." Brass held up his badge and tried not to feel bad about trying to intimidate the timid receptionist.

"I'll call someone."

In what felt like hours an emergency room doctor finally appeared and asked to speak with Sara Sidle's family.

Finding his legs, Grissom stood in front of the man and took a deep breath. "We're her family. How is she?"

TBC


	25. Chapter 25

And So It Goes...

By: Manigault

Note: **Thanks for everyones comments! **

**This chapter has something I've never written before (that I remember that is) and that's Grissom doing something that I've avoided in stories past. If you blink you'll miss it. LOL.**

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Grissom held his breath as he waited for news of Sara's conditon while all the time wondering if he would still be standing if it were not for the solid presence of Warrick and Nick on either side of him as they practically held him up with their nearness. He was aware of Catherine standing close to Warrick and Greg and Jim hovering over his shoulder as they all stared the doctor down with their intense gazes.

Not intimidated by the motley appearing crew, Dr. Ike Stephens smiled faintly and attempted to make his answers short and to the point. "She should live." Waiting for the expectant sigh of relief he continued on when it was apparent that more definitive details were needed by this patients "family".

"Miss Sidle has had some damage to her spleen and liver which we prepared during surgery. Surprisingly there are no broken bones considering the extent of her internal injuries." He frowned and gave the man standing directly in front of him a puzzled look as he stated dryly. "I was told she was in a car accident? The injuries she sustained are more comparable to being kicked or beaten by someone while she's in a prone position."

A chorus of expletives erupted from the group and one or two threats were directed towards _that lunatic _at the station who would dare beat their friend while she was most likely unconscious.

"She had to be unconsconscious," Greg mumbled beneath his breath. "That's the only way that psycho could have taken her without a fight."

Waiting for the cacophony of protests to ease, Dr. Stephens addressed the only quiet one in the group, the one that appeared, in his eyes, to be the most distraught by the condition of the victim if the fact that he appeared as if he'd collapse at any given second was accurate.

"She's in recovery now and we'll be moving her to the intensive care unit soon. In a few hours we'll allow two visitors at a time in to see her until she's stable enough to move to a regular room." He hesitated as if he wanted to say something else, but held back and waited for any questions.

"A few hours?" Grissom repeated the doctors words even as he moved away from his friends to ease himself onto a chair. Numbness was setting in his mind and he wasn't sure if he'd last that long before seeing her with his own eyes. The swelling of emotions pounding in his head and within his chest were threatening to erupt in some manner and he didn't want to have a complete melt down in front of everyone. He needed to be alone. He needed to see Sara.

Thanking the doctor for his information Catherine walked over to ease herself into a chair beside Grissom. Watchful of the fact that he was about to fall apart she chose to not speak to him and keep anyone else from approaching him as he leaned foward and squeezed his eyes tightly shut.

Taking a hint from Catherine's expression the team dispersed to go in search of coffee and something solid to eat. It was understood without question that Grissom would be the first one in to see Sara and with any luck they would each get in to see her as she recovered.

Time crept by as Grissom waited for someone to inform him that she'd been moved to intensive care and could receive visitors. He knew from experience that he should go to the waiting room but the thought of his legs giving out on him kept him from moving.

_Sara's okay. Sara's alive. She is alive_. These reassurances kept going through his mind over and over as he swallowed back the emotions. He was vaguely aware of a hand on his arm and registered a familiar voice, Catherine, telling him that he could see her now.

Opening his eyes, he blinked several times in a rapid fashion as white flashes distorted his vision. Swiveling his head around, he focused on Catherine's face and asked her to repeat what she'd just said.

"You can see Sara now, Gil. Warrick just called me and told me that two people can go back and see her and I told them we would be on the way up and that I thought if best if you are the first one in to see her and then the rest of us can take turns if that's okay. You ready?"

With a nod, Grissom stood up and was surprised that his legs didn't betray him. Shaking off the feeling that there was something he'd forgotten to ask the doctor, he begain walking briskly to the elevator that would lead him to the second floor, and then to Sara.

Moving past the waiting room where the crew had settled in with their food and beverages Grissom found his way to the nurses station where he eagerly asked to see Sara Sidle and was given the room number with a cryptic statement that Dr. Stephens was waiting to speak with him.

A new fear gripped his mind as he made his way to room four and saw Sara lying in bed with lines running from her arm up to an IV pole holding a bag of fluids. Dr. Stephens was standing on one side of the bed and on the opposite side a nurse was checking vital signs.

Catching sight of Grissom as he entered the room, the nurse smiled and introduced herself before leaving so that Grissom could move in and stand beside the bed. Clearing his throat, Dr. Stephens tried to draw the man's attention away from the patient so he could ask him a direct question that would determine any other information he could give.

"Dr. Grissom, isn't it?"

Grissom tore his gaze away from Sara to acknowledge Dr. Stephens before looking back down and reaching out to push a strand of Sara's hair behind her ear.

"Tell me this isn't about any problem with her prognosis." Grissom finally managed to utter the words as he waited for Stephens to fill him in why he needed to speak with him.

"Indirectly, it could be."

This statement captured Grissom's attention and his head jerked back up to give the doctor a wary look. "What is it?"

"What is your relationship with Miss Sidle?"

Narrowing his eyes, Grissom scowled at the man before giving him a biting response.

"We're lovers, Dr. Stephens. Is that what you're asking me?"

Not deterred by the tension he'd generated by his questioning, Dr. Stephens made a decision to go a bit further.

"Are you aware of her, hmmm, of the fact that she's expecting?" He hoped he wasn't stepping out of line with this information.

Grissom appeared baffled at first and then understanding lit his eyes before something like guilt washed over him. He'd forgotten. His concern had been completely focused on Sara; finding her and making sure she was okay. He'd forgotten about the life inside of her and how this situation would threaten the baby.

"I didn't think about the baby." He admitted as the guilt crept into his voice. "Is it..."

Dr. Stephens nodded. "The fetus is holding it's own, but considering the situation the next forty eight hours should prove crucial. We'll monitor them both, but I thought that you should know that as we speak the baby is alive and doing as well as could be expected." Watching the emotions play over the man's face, Dr. Stephens gave him an encouraging smile and told him that he'd clear it with the nurses to allow him to stay in the room for as long as he would like.

Thanking him, Grissom waited until he'd left to pull a chair up beside Sara's bed and reach beneath the covers for her hand. His eyes fastened on her belly and he wondered at the fact that he'd not remembered the fact that Sara was pregnant and the baby was in as much danger as she was. _What did that say for him as a prospective parent?_ _What did it say that his concern was still focused on Sara's recovery and the idea of a child growing inside her was almost unfathomable. _

With the stress of the entire situation catching up to him, Grissom bent forward and lay his forehead on the hand he clutched like a life line, as silent sobs racked his body.

TBC

Okay. I believe this is the first time I've let Grissom sob. It's also the first time it felt right to me.


	26. Chapter 26

And So It Goes...

By: Manigault

**Note: Thanks to everyone for your comments! I promise they keep me motivated to keep writing.**

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The intensive care waiting room was filled with Sara's concerned co-workers, coming and going as shifts allowed. Glancing at the clock as he paced the room, Nick looked back to Catherine and grumbled something about her not allowing them to see Sara before shift began.

"Cool it, Nick." Warrick met his friends eyes and held his look for several seconds before Nick turned away from him. Catherine had gone in to see Sara an hour before and was back within minutes, a troubled expression on her face as she informed them that Grissom needed some more time alone with Sara.

Nick shook his head and looked over to Greg for support. The younger man shrugged and looked back down at his clasped hands, a fact that sent Nick into another irritated grumble about time and having to leave soon.

He understood. He got it. It was just that all he could think about was his own brushes with danger and his need to see that his friend was okay with his own eyes. Greg had been here not too long ago, he should understand why Nick wanted to see Sara before going into work.

His attention was captured by a clearing of a throat and a familiar voice and all of his anger faded as his eyes fell on the beaten down man standing just outside the waiting room door. Grissom's eyes were red and swollen and it was obvious that the stress had caught up with him. Embarrassed by his own impatience, Nick held his breath as he waited for the exhausted man to speak.

"She hasn't woken up yet, but I wanted to let you all know that you should come back and see her for a few minutes." His voice cracked with raw emotion and he excused himself without really giving any of them another glance.

Grissom was pushing the door open to the mens restroom when he heard someone approach him from behind and the apologetic voice of Warrick.

"Hey Griss, I know you want to be alone but I had to ask you something without anyone else around."

Grissom turned his head slightly to let Warrick know he was listening, but he didn't respond verbally. He had a sinking feeling about what Warrick was going to inquire about and it was still too new to discuss with anyone.

Clearing his throat nervously, Warrick ventured on with his question. "When the paramedics were leaving I let them know that she was expecting. I was wondering if..." Warrick faltered in finishing the question, not knowing how welcome his interference would be and if Grissom wanted to have this discussion with him.

"It's holding on," Grissom said. "For now." Without another word he entered the restroom and closed the door behind him. Warrick was only concerned and he realized that with no question, but he was so lost right now and unsure about the future. Leaning on the sink he avoided looking at himself in the mirror by keeping his eyes fastened on the smooth white basin and the small pool of water that had settled around the drain.

Outside the restroom, Warrick rubbed the back of his neck and turned back towards the waiting room when he bumped into someone.

"Catherine! How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to learn that Grissom and Sara are going to be parents. Isn't that what you were talking about?" Catherine asked. "I mean it's great news right? How far along is she?" _And why didn't one of them tell me?_

Glancing back towards the restroom door, Warrick took Catherine's elbow in his hand and steered her away as he spoke very low. "It's very new for them both and to be honest I doubt that they have had time to even discuss it with one another. Let's grab some coffee before we go in to see Sara and I'll tell you why I know about it, okay?" The last thing he wanted to do was be heard spreading this private information before Sara or Grissom had time to make the announcement, but since Catherine had inadvertantly stumbled onto the secret what choice did he have?

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Nick gripped the end of the bed and stared at the IV lines running from Sara's arms up to the bag of fluids that were keeping her hydrated. Greg stood beside the bed simply staring at the bruised and battered face of his friend.

Both men had been through similiar situations in the past couple of years and neither one would wish this experience on anyone, much less Sara who had always been the first one there for them after their own ordeals. A tear slipped down Greg's cheek and he wiped it away quickly with the back of his hand, hoping that Nick hadn't witnessed this sign of weakness on his part.

"It's okay brother," Nick said. "Only real men can cry, alright?"

Nodding, Greg tried to smile but it fell short as he breathed out a sad sigh. "She looks terrible."

"But, she's alive Greggo."

"And not deaf," Sara grumbled good naturedly as she struggled to open her eyes. "I feel terrible too." It felt like her eyelids were glued together and she needed help getting them to work properly.

A duo of happy greetings met her as she spoke and the concerned faces of both men swam into focus as she finally managed to open her eyelids to a small slit.

"It's good to see you awake, Sara." Nick reached out and found her hand as he carefully gripped it in his own shaking fingers. "Grissom will be thrilled."

At the mention of Grissom, Sara's eyes opened wider and she tried to turn her head to see if he was in the room. "Where is he?"

"He stepped out for a minute to let us see you before our shift starts," Greg said. "I'll find him."

"Wait." Sara gave him a warm smile. "Thank you for caring about me Greg."

"Always." Greg bent forward and planted a light kiss on her forehead before darting out of the room to find Grissom and leaving Nick alone with Sara for a few minutes.

"Some team we are," Sara squeezed Nick's fingers and stared into his troubled gaze. "Alone for one minute and a maniac overtakes us and puts us in extremely dangerous situations."

"You can never say that we don't live exciting lives." Nick quipped back. "Seriously, you can't scare us like this again, you got that?"

"Got it. You have to promise the same thing, though. Okay?"

"Sure. We need to move to a commune where nobody can ever touch any of us again."

"That wouldn't be such a bad idea." Grissom's sobering comment caused Nick and Sara to turn their attention to him. He'd been standing in the restroom, frozen in thought, when Greg had burst through the door announcing that Sara was awake and asking for him. Pushing away from the sink, he'd jogged through the halls to arrive in time to hear the teasing exchange. The idea was actually very tempting to him and one that he'd happily arrange if he thought either one would truly accept.

"Griss." Sara's eyes lit up and she soaked in the sight of him.

Gently letting go of Sara's hand, Nick told her he would see her later and quietly made his exit so that she and Grissom could be alone.

"You're awake," Grissom stated the obvious and cringed at his own words. "How are you feeling?" Again, he cringed. He was certain that she felt like shit because he did and he hadn't even gone through the trauma that she'd endured.

"I'm better now that you're here." Sara reached out for him and shivered as a wave of pain coursed through her body. "Ouch."

In a flash Grissom was pressing the nurse call button before turning back to Sara and enveloping her hand in his own. "Honey, try not to move."

"I'm fine, Grissom. I moved too quickly, that's all."

"You're not fine," Grissom's voice was clipped and he didn't know where the anger was stemming but it wasn't easing as Sara stared back at him with alarm. "You were kidnapped by a raving lunatic, you were left for dead in the desert where you almost didn't make it and you've had major surgery."

Sara's attention was diverted from his diatribe as a nurse rushed into the room to check on her and assess her vitals. Glancing over at the irritated man who now stood by the window staring out into the growing dusk, she looked back at her patient and asked softly.

"Should I send him out?"

"No." Sara assured the nurse she felt better and she just needed to speak with her boyfriend.

Once she'd left, Sara closed her eyes and stifled a yawn that wasn't lost on Grissom who had turned slightly to study her from his position beside the window.

"I'm sorry."

"No, you're not." Sara didn't bother to open her eyes as she spoke, but her hand lifted off the bed and she held out her fingers in his direction. "I don't want you to be angry with me Griss, but I understand your reasons. I'm sorry that I wasn't more careful."

"It wasn't your fault," Grissom snapped before lowering his head in self reproach. "It was mine. It was my fault for not catching this killer and for not protecting you when I knew that you were a target for her insanity."

Opening her eyes Sara let her hand drop back on the bed as she studied him, troubled. "Come here, Griss. Please."

Moving over to her side his eyes fell on her abdomen and another thought occurred to him. Sara hadn't asked about the baby. Why?

Following his gaze, Sara was puzzled. "What is it?"

He met her eyes with difficulty. "Doctor Stephens says that the next forty eight hours are critical for the baby, but it's holding it's own."

"Baby? I'm pregnant?"

Grissom cast a furtive look towards the door and hoped that someone would appear and rescue him from this new situation. "Honey, you don't remember? You're about twelve weeks along. Sara?"

A look of wonder transformed Sara's face. "I'm pregnant. I don't remember. Why don't I remember this Grissom? Why would I forget something so incredible?"

"Stress?" He didn't add that he'd forgotten for a short time as well, until reminded by the doctor. The doctor. He needed to find him and hope that he could give them some answers as to why Sara had forgotten she was pregnant.

TBC


	27. Chapter 27

Title: And So It Goes...

By: Manigault

**Note: Thank you for reading this and especially for all of your comments! **

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"I'm no psychologist," Dr. Stephens stated after speaking with Sara for several minutes. "However, it sounds as if you are suffering from dissociative amnesia, considering you remember everything except the pregnancy and the fact that there was no obvious trauma to your brain."

Clearing his throat, Grissom felt as if a light bulb had flipped on in his mind and he said cautiously, "It's when someone has a sudden loss of memory concernng important personal information due to traumatic stress or internal conflict." Grissom stood on the opposite side of the bed facing the doctor. "She could have systematised amnesia which is characterized by the loss of memory regarding one specific area of memory such as being pregnant."

Ike studied him with a new respect. "I thought you were a criminologist?"

"And an entomologist," Grissom added with a slight smile. "I've done some research on psychological issues, although I'm far from an expert."

"If we could get back to my situation, Dr. Stephens, then I'd appreciate some answers." Sara interrupted and tried unsuccessfully to not sound as moody as she was feeling.

"I thought that's what we were trying to give you." Grissom retorted before Ike could open his mouth. Berating himself for his abruptness, Grissom frowned and wondered why he was being so insane. The last person he wanted to upset was the woman lying in this hospital bed.

Ike stared from his patient to the tense man standing next to her bed and frowned. "Perhaps you'd like to speak with me alone, Miss Sidle?"

The thought of Grissom walking out of the room angry with her didn't sit well in Sara's mind so she shook her head. "No. I'd like for him to stay, but I'd like some answers to my physical problems. When do you think that I can go home?"

Startled by her line of questioning, Ike stumbled over his response before shaking his head. "You won't be going home for several days, Miss Sidle. You had major surgery and not to mention that we certainly don't want to put more stress on the fetus."

"He's going to be okay, I'm sure of it." Sara said with such confidence it caused more concern to crease the edges of Ike's eyes and he exchanged a worried look with Grissom who was shifting his weight anxiously from one foot to the next.

"I'm not a pessimistic man, Miss Sidle, but you need to know that there is the possibility that the trauma you endured both before and after being rescued can have an adverse affect on your unborn child. I have to be blunt about your situation and warn you that you could still lose the fetus."

Sara moved her hand to cover her lower abdomen while giving the doctor a look of steel that would have lesser men running from the room. "If this baby survived everything that I went through out there in the desert and made it through surgery with me, then he is going to pull through the next several months with me."

Ike held up his hands in mock defense as he gave her a smile. "I need to visit with some other patients, Miss Sidle, but if either of you have any questions you can contact me at this number." Leaving his card on the bedside table he then gave Grissom a friendly nod before he turned and left the room.

Settling one hip on the bed next to Sara, Grissom reached out to push a strand of hair from her eyes as he watched the random play of emotions dance across her face.

"You're angry." Sara said, her voice lowering to a tired whisper. Backwards. It felt like they were always moving backwards.

"I'm not angry with you," Grissom said. "It's me. I've realized how selfish that I've become, or to be more accurate, how selfish I've been for years. I'm sorry for sounding so angry, Sara, but I've been lost."

Encouraged by the surprise that showed on her face Grissom continued, "I actually suffered from the same symptoms you have, only once my memory was jarred I did remember."

Arching one eyebrow Sara asked with puzzlement. "What are you talking about Gil? My symptoms?"

"When you were missing all I could think about was finding you and finding you alive. I forgot." Grissom's voice faltered and he lowered his eyes and dropped his hand to his side. "I forgot all about the baby. I didn't give it one thought until Stephens brought it to my attention."

"Now you're feeling guilty." Sara said while drawing one finger along his left forearm. "It's understandable, Gil, it is. I would have probably done the same thing if our positions were reversed."

"If I was the one pregnant?" Grissom teased, his tone becoming much lighter as the weight was lifted from his shoulders.

"Now that would be rather unforgettable." Sara joked back as a smile broke over her cracked lips and she tugged him gently towards her until his lips were grazing her own.

"I love you Sara Sidle." Grissom trailed a light kiss over her lips and pulled back far enough to stare into her eyes.

"You better," Sara said before turning serious. "I love you back, Gil. You're everything to me. You know that, don't you?"

In response, he bent forward again and kissed her forehead.

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"You're still here, Parker? What's the fascination?" Ida asked, glancing around Natalie's apartment with disgust. "Sara's in the hospital and Natalie is in jail. There's enough evidence back at the lab to put her away for a long time, so why are we still here?"

Parker shrugged as he placed a book back on the shelf and gave Ida half of his attention. "What could make a person go to these lengths? Was she born this way?"

"The woman's insane. Crazy. Nuts. What more do you need? We've been requested back at headquarters, Parker. We should wrap this up and go home." Ida was eager to return to her own apartment and her nice cozy bed. She liked the investigators she'd met for the brief time they had been here in Vegas and she was thrilled that Sidle would be okay, but it was time to leave and she didn't like the way Parker was behaving.

"She was focused on Sara Sidle and found a commonality between them, so why try to kill her? Why take someone that you identify with and leave them out in the desert?"

"I'm sure that Grissom and his team will work out the details Parker. If you're nice then maybe one of them will give you the details when it's solved. Ready to go?"

"No." Parker took another book off a shelf and avoided her eyes as he spoke. "I'm taking a few days of personal leave to help out here. I already spoke with John and he approved it."

Ida opened her mouth to protest and then closed it quickly. John was thier immediate supervisor and if he'd given Parker the time off then there was nothing she could do about that fact.

"What about the CSI's? They probably don't want or need your help."

"I already spoke with Catherine and she told me they would appreciate my continued help. Apparently Grissom is taking a leave of absence to spend some time with Sara so Catherine is the one in charge for the duration of his leave." Parker couldn't help but give Ida a slight smirk as he dashed her arguments. The fact was he wasn't sure why he wanted to stay since the case was at a pretty certain closure, but he was drawn by a need to understand what motivated Natalie to become the person that she'd become. "Besides, I could use a vacation. You're always telling me that."

Ida rolled her eyes. She couldn't help it. Parker was intrigued with the psycho and there would be no convincing him otherwise. "I'm going to stop by the hospital to see Sara before I leave." She reached the door and opened it before looking back at Parker. "I hope that you remember that there are not always clear answers to the reasons people become who they become or do the unthinkable. Don't forget that Parker."

Parker nodded, but his attention was on a journal that he'd found stuck between the pages of a children's classic.

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Bright flowers in colorful vases lined the window sill and every other available space in Sara's room as she was wheeled in on a stretcher and moved over to the bed by a nurse and Grissom, the latter whom had refused to leave her side until she was safely tucked into bed. The lab as well as the police department had been sending flowers since she'd been admitted and the staff had decided to assign a room to house the gifts until the recipient could be transferred.

Sara settled into bed and looked around the room with an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Beautiful flowers."

"However?" Grissom asked with a slight smile on his lips as he picked up on her mood.

"They'll all wilt and die." Sara stated with such sadness that Grissom felt his heart tug in a manner that he wasn't prepared for as he realized that he wasn't quite certain how to respond.

Climbing onto the bed next to Sara he twisted his body towards her and leaned his head against the pillow beside her head. "I'll have Nick and Warrick help me take them out of here. We can ask the staff to distibute them to other patients if you like."

"Thanks." Shifting her weight so that she was nose to nose with Grissom she smiled and reached up to touch his face. "Your whiskers are coming out."

"Hmmm." Grissom moved closer to her by wrapping one hand around her hip and gently tugging her lips to his as the kiss grew deeper.

"Hey! Hey there! A young kid is present, so do you mind?" Nick's laughing voice had the desired affect as Grissom and Sara jumped apart and turned to spy an amused Nick and a not so amused Greg standing just inside the doorway.

"Young kid? I don't think so _Nicky_." Greg shook his head and looked back at Sara for support only to find her trying not to laugh.

"Oh yeah? Whose holding the stuffed animal and balloons, huh?" Nick shifted the potted plant he was carrying to one hand and pointed at the obvious.

"Well, Sara doesn't like cut flowers so at least the giraffe will be something she can keep." Greg wanted to add that it was also for the baby but held back as he didn't know the current situation.

"She likes live plants." Nick added as he approached the bed and exchanged grins with Sara who was feeling better by the second. She loved these guys and she knew that Grissom felt the same way even though a quick glance in his direction revealed a scowl. Nudging Grissom with her elbow, she gave each man a warm smile.

"You're both right. I love the plant _and_ the giraffe so thank you very much."

Nick moved some flowers off the window sill and replaced it with the plant at Sara's insistance. Greg handed the giraffe to Sara as he tried unsuccessfully to avoid Grissom's light scowl and before tying the balloons to the end of the bed.

"How are you feeling Sar?" Nick asked after taking the cards off the flowers at her request and placing them on the side table next to Grissom.

"Much better now that I'm in a regular room." Sara gave a weary sigh and sent Grissom a wistful look. "Only not as good as I'll be when I'm allowed to go home and sleep in my own bed."

"It won't be too long before we can go home." Grissom tried to assure her as his scowl vanished and was replaced with determination.

Nick pulled up a chair next to Sara and shot a puzzled look towards the pacing Greg. "Chill out Greg. Pull up a chair and relax."

Greg sighed and looked over at Grissom who now wore a blank expression as the older man stared back at him.

"I don't think Grissom wants us here." Greg said while hoping that Grissom woudn't be pissed at him for his comment. "I mean, Sara needs her rest and all." He stumbled over his own words and looked over at Sara who had her attention focused on Grissom, who was shifting uneasily.

"Greg. Sit." Grissom ordered lightly as amusement took over his previous demeanor. "You make Sara happy so visit with her for awhile. Please."

"Then okay!" Greg smiled and pulled another chair over as his normal personality took over and he began to entertain them with his own heroic actions in saving Sara.

It wasn't until Sara fell asleep that Nick and Greg took their leave, but not before Grissom thanked them for their visit.

Alone once again, Grissom rolled onto his side and studied the bruised and battered face of the most lovely woman he knew and made a silent vow to do his best to make her happy.

TBC


End file.
